How to recognize scams like McAfee subscription has expired email scam

What is McAfee subscription has expired email scam?

Scammers behind this email attempt to trick users into believing that their McAfee subscription has expired and opening another deceptive page claiming that their computers are infected. Scammers could be using this email to trick recipients into paying for bogus subscriptions or services, installing shady software, or for other purposes.

McAfee subscription has expired email scam in detail

Scammers claim that McAfee subscription has expired, and recipients can use a "limited-time offer" and pay only $29.99 for a renewed 2-year subscription. The "Buy now" hyperlink in their email opens a deceptive website designed to run a fake system scan and display a message claiming that a computer is infected with multiple viruses.

This whose scam campaign could be used to trick recipients into purchasing fake software or paying for unnecessary services, providing sensitive information, or similar purposes. Scammers may also use it to advertise legitimate McAfee software and collect illegitimate commissions from an affiliate program.

Threat Summary:

Name	McAfee Subscription Has Expired Email Scam.txt
Threat Type	Phishing, Scam, Social Engineering, Fraud
Fake Claim	McAfee subscription has expired
Disguise	Letter from McAffee or a legitimate representative
Related Domain	loumous[.]com
Detection Names (loumous[.]com)	Avira (Phishing), Combo Cleaner (Phishing), CyRadar (Malicious), Sophos (Spam), 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. ▼ Download Combo Cleaner To use full-featured product, you have to purchase a license for Combo Cleaner. 7 days free trial available. Combo Cleaner is owned and operated by Rcs Lt, the parent company of PCRisk.com read more.

Email scams in general

Email scams usually are disguised as letters from legitimate companies, organizations, or other entities. Scammers use them to trick recipients into providing personal information and (or) remote access to computers, paying for fake software/services, and other purposes.

More examples of email scams are "MojeBanka Email Scam", "You Have Received An Encrypted Message Email Scam", "Norton Subscription Will Renew Today Email Scam". Emails can be used to trick recipients into infecting their computers too.

How do spam campaigns infect computers?

When emails are used to deliver malware, they contain malicious attachments or website links. Either way, the purpose of such emails is to trick recipients into executing malware/opening malicious files. Threat actors can use MS Office, PDF documents, executable files, JavaScript files, archive files, and other files to distribute malicious software.

How to avoid installation of malware?

Do not open files and website links in emails sent from unknown email addresses. Especially when received emails are not relevant. Download files and software only from legitimate sources such as official pages, platforms. Always use tools, functions created/provided by official developers to update and activate the installed 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 McAfee subscription has expired email scam:

Subject: Your McAfee subscription has expired

McAfee Total Protection - 5 Devices

Your McAfee subscription has expired

Two years of premium antivirus, safe web browsing and password manager with VPN.

Protect your computer and avoid fraud McAfee. We have put together a limited offer especially for you.

CA$ 29.99 for 2 years subscription.

Email: -
Discount: (80%) only today

LIMITED TIME OFFER: March 15, 2021

Buy now

Regards
Account support

unsubscribe

Deceptive website promoting McAfee - Your PC is infected with 5 viruses! scam message:

Another example of McAfee subscription-themed spam email:

Text presented within:

Final Notice: Your computer will no longer protected, Your subscription has expired! 06/06/2022

McAfee
Together is power.

Your McAfee subscription has expired
Your subscription of McAfee Total Protection for your devices expired on Monday, June 6, 2022

After the expiry date has passed your devices will become susceptible to many different virus threats.

Your PC is unprotexted ,it is exposed to viruses and other malware...

Available (-59%) Renew Discount : 00:34:00

McAfee Total Protection
10 Devices + VPN

Serial Number :
SDRF-KLDR-ZSQD-KPDL
[Renew Subscription]

Yet another example of McAfee-themed spam email:

Text presented within:

Subject: Your McAfee subscription has expired vice is infected with (50) viruses ==== Check now as soon as possible

 

McAfee
LAST REMINDER : CONFIRMATION NEEDED

Your subscription of McAfee Total Protection may expire Today.

After the expiry date has passed your devices will become vulnerable for Hackers.

Reference code XJB66P27A
Date 06-18-2022
account-ID 8366360839
Keep your Devices Safe NOW >>
Available (-60%) Renewal Discount Today : 4 min 19 sec

Instant automatic malware removal: Manual threat removal might be a lengthy and complicated process that requires advanced IT skills. Combo Cleaner is a professional automatic malware removal tool that is recommended to get rid of malware. Download it by clicking the button below:
▼ DOWNLOAD Combo Cleaner By downloading any software listed on this website you agree to our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use. To use full-featured product, you have to purchase a license for Combo Cleaner. 7 days free trial available. Combo Cleaner is owned and operated by Rcs Lt, the parent company of PCRisk.com read more.

Quick menu:

• What is McAfee Subscription Has Expired 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?

This email is not personal. Scammers have sent it to other people too. Usually, scammers use emails from leaked databases for their email scam campaigns.

I have provided my personal information when tricked by this email, what should I do?

If you have provided login credentials (like email addresses, usernames, passwords), then change all passwords as soon as possible. In other cases, contact corresponding authorities (if you have provided credit card details, social security numbers, or other details).

Is it possible to infect a computer by opening an email?

No, opening an email by itself is completely harmless. However, clicking links and opening attachments in malicious emails can result in having a computer infected with malware. It depends on the type of a file used to distribute malware.

Can Combo Cleaner remove malware infections caused through emails?

Yes, Combo Cleaner can detect and eliminate almost all known malware. It is important to know that high-end malware can hide deep in the operating system. Therefore, the system must be scanned using a full scan.

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