How to recognize emails scams like the Office 365 phishing scam?
Written by Tomas Meskauskas on (updated)
What is Office 365 email scam?
Phishing emails are used to trick recipients into providing personal information. Scammers behind them attempt to obtain credit card details, bank accounts numbers, social security numbers, login credentials, or other information. This phishing email is used to extract email login credentials via a fake Office 365 page.
Office 365 phishing email in detail
Scammers try to trick recipients into believing that their Office 365 account password will expire on the day this email has been received and to update it via the provided website ("Keep Same Password" hyperlink). That website is designed to look like the official Office 365 login page.
Users are asked to sign in using their email (or username) and password. It is important to mention that the URL of the official Office 365 page is office[.]com and not officce3655[.]com as the URL of this fake Microsoft page used to steal login credentials.
| Name | Office 365 Email Scam |
| Threat Type | Phishing, Scam, Social Engineering, Fraud |
| Fake Claim | Email account password will expire today |
| Disguise | Letter from Office 365 (Microsoft) |
| Related Domain | officce3655[.]com |
| Detection Names officce3655[.]com | Combo Cleaner (Phishing), ESET (Phishing), Fortinet (Phishing), G-Data (Phishing), Lionic (Phishing), Full List Of Detections (VirusTotal) |
| Symptoms | Unauthorized online purchases, changed online account passwords, identity theft, illegal access of the computer. |
| Distribution methods | Deceptive emails, rogue online pop-up ads, search engine poisoning techniques, misspelled domains. |
| Damage | Loss of sensitive private information, monetary loss, identity theft. |
| Malware Removal (Windows) | To eliminate possible malware infections, scan your computer with legitimate antivirus software. Our security researchers recommend using Combo Cleaner. |
Phishing emails in general
Most phishing emails are disguised as letters from legitimate entities. They contain a link designed to open a deceptive website where visitors are asked to enter personal information. More examples of similar emails are "New Mail Server System 4.0", "ING Bank", and "MijnOverheid". Emails also can be used to deliver malware.
How do spam campaigns infect computers?
Recipients infect computers through emails by opening malicious attachments or files downloaded via website links. Most cybercriminals send malicious PDF documents, Microsoft Office documents, JavaScript files, executable files, archive files.
Malicious MS Office documents cannot infect computers unless users enable macros commands (editing/ content) in them. Microsoft Office versions released before 2010 do not have the "Protected View" mode. Therefore, malicious documents opened with those versions infect computers without asking permission to enable macros commands.
How to avoid installation of malware?
Links, attachments in emails sent from suspicious, unknown senders should not be opened, especially if such emails are not relevant (for example, they mention invoices for products that have not been ordered. Files and programs should be downloaded from official websites and via direct links.
Installed programs have to be updated and activated using tools provided/designed by their official developers. A computer should be scanned for malware and other threats regularly. It is advisable to do it using a reputable antivirus or anti-spyware software.
If you've already opened malicious attachments, we recommend running a scan with Combo Cleaner Antivirus for Windows to automatically eliminate infiltrated malware.
Text presented in the Office 365 email scam:
Subject: ******** Expiration/Request=43
Office 365
********
The Password for ******** Will Expire Today
use current password to continue for ********Keep Same Password
Fake Office 365 login page asking to enter email address (or username) and password:
Another example of Office 365-themed spam email promoting a phishing site:
Text presented within:
Subject: Server IMAP Address (POP3)
Office 365
Dear Valued -,
Your e-mail account address is important to us.
This is to inform you that your account will be suspended.
Server IMAP Address (POP3) : -
Your domain server (DNS) default must be Restored.
Click below button for your DNS account reset:
Server Reset
This is an automated reply to your email and shall get back to you shortly.
Thank you for choosing webmail domain.
The system generated this advisory on Thursday, 6/23/2022 4:17:34 a.m. (UTC).
Do not reply to this automated message.
Screenshot of the promoted phishing site:
Another example of Office 365-themed spam email promoting a phishing site:
Text presented within:
Subject: Action Required: Password Expiration for - user
Microsoft
Office 365
Password Notification-
Your email account password is expiring Today, Tuesday, November 8, 2022
Use below instruction to keep account password.
Keep Account Password
Note: Action This effect may take short period of time 11/9/2022 HDT
All Rights Reserved Outlook365 Inc. Patents and Patents Pending Microsoft365
Screenshot of the promoted phishing site:
Screenshot of another Office 365-themed spam email promoting the exact same site:
Text presented within:
Subject: Action Required: Password Expiration for - user
Microsoft
Office 365
Hi -,Your password for - expires in Today Tuesday, November 8, 2022.
Use the below instruction to keep account password
Keep My Password
-
© 2022 Microsoft365. All rights reserved.
An example of Office 365-themed spam email spreading malware (the provided URL downloads a malicious ISO file):
Text presented within:
Subject: You received a voicemail
Office 365
You received 1 new voice message
One of your contacts sent you a voicemail via the microsoft office 365 voicemail service
Please refer to the Button below to listen or Download the voice message.
Listen to Voicemail
Regards,Microsoft Office 365 Team
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Quick menu:
- What is Office 365 email spam?
- Types of malicious emails.
- How to spot a malicious email?
- What to do if you fell for an email scam?
Types of malicious emails:
Phishing Emails
Most commonly, cybercriminals use deceptive emails to trick Internet users into giving away their sensitive private information, for example, login information for various online services, email accounts, or online banking information.
Such attacks are called phishing. In a phishing attack, cybercriminals usually send an email message with some popular service logo (for example, Microsoft, DHL, Amazon, Netflix), create urgency (wrong shipping address, expired password, etc.), and place a link which they hope their potential victims will click on.
After clicking the link presented in such email message, victims are redirected to a fake website that looks identical or extremely similar to the original one. Victims are then asked to enter their password, credit card details, or some other information that gets stolen by cybercriminals.
Emails with Malicious Attachments
Another popular attack vector is email spam with malicious attachments that infect users' computers with malware. Malicious attachments usually carry trojans that are capable of stealing passwords, banking information, and other sensitive information.
In such attacks, cybercriminals' main goal is to trick their potential victims into opening an infected email attachment. To achieve this goal, email messages usually talk about recently received invoices, faxes, or voice messages.
If a potential victim falls for the lure and opens the attachment, their computers get infected, and cybercriminals can collect a lot of sensitive information.
While it's a more complicated method to steal personal information (spam filters and antivirus programs usually detect such attempts), if successful, cybercriminals can get a much wider array of data and can collect information for a long period of time.
Sextortion Emails
This is a type of phishing. In this case, users receive an email claiming that a cybercriminal could access the webcam of the potential victim and has a video recording of one's masturbation.
To get rid of the video, victims are asked to pay a ransom (usually using Bitcoin or another cryptocurrency). Nevertheless, all of these claims are false - users who receive such emails should ignore and delete them.
How to spot a malicious email?
While cyber criminals try to make their lure emails look trustworthy, here are some things that you should look for when trying to spot a phishing email:
- Check the sender's ("from") email address: Hover your mouse over the "from" address and check if it's legitimate. For example, if you received an email from Microsoft, be sure to check if the email address is @microsoft.com and not something suspicious like @m1crosoft.com, @microsfot.com, @account-security-noreply.com, etc.
- Check for generic greetings: If the greeting in the email is "Dear user", "Dear @youremail.com", "Dear valued customer", this should raise suspiciousness. Most commonly, companies call you by your name. Lack of this information could signal a phishing attempt.
- Check the links in the email: Hover your mouse over the link presented in the email, if the link that appears seems suspicious, don't click it. For example, if you received an email from Microsoft and the link in the email shows that it will go to firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0... you shouldn't trust it. It's best not to click any links in the emails but to visit the company website that sent you the email in the first place.
- Don't blindly trust email attachments: Most commonly, legitimate companies will ask you to log in to their website and to view any documents there; if you received an email with an attachment, it's a good idea to scan it with an antivirus application. Infected email attachments are a common attack vector used by cybercriminals.
To minimise the risk of opening phishing and malicious emails we recommend using Combo Cleaner Antivirus for Windows.
Example of a spam email:
What to do if you fell for an email scam?
- If you clicked on a link in a phishing email and entered your password - be sure to change your password as soon as possible. Usually, cybercriminals collect stolen credentials and then sell them to other groups that use them for malicious purposes. If you change your password in a timely manner, there's a chance that criminals won't have enough time to do any damage.
- If you entered your credit card information - contact your bank as soon as possible and explain the situation. There's a good chance that you will need to cancel your compromised credit card and get a new one.
- If you see any signs of identity theft - you should immediately contact the Federal Trade Commission. This institution will collect information about your situation and create a personal recovery plan.
- If you opened a malicious attachment - your computer is probably infected, you should scan it with a reputable antivirus application. For this purpose, we recommend using Combo Cleaner Antivirus for Windows.
- Help other Internet users - report phishing emails to Anti-Phishing Working Group, FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center, National Fraud Information Center and U.S. Department of Justice.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
Why did I receive this email?
Cybercriminals behind phishing scams send the exact same letter to thousands email addresses hoping that someone will fall for it. These emails are never personal.
I have provided my personal information when tricked by this email, what should I do?
If you have provided any account credentials (email addresses, usernames, passwords), change all passwords immediately. If you have provided other information like credit card details, ID card information, social security numbers, contact corresponding authorities as soon as possible.
What if an email sent by cybercriminals has a file attached to it, but I have not opened it. Is my computer infected?
No, opening emails is not harmful (it cannot cause damage). Recipients infect computers when they open attachments or links.
Will Combo Cleaner remove malware infections that were present in the email attachment?
Yes, Combo Cleaner is capable of detecting and eliminating almost all known malware infections. High-end malware can hide deep in the operating system. Therefore, it is recommended to run a full system scan to detect hidden malware.
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