How to spot phshing emails like Update required to avoid login interruption

What is "Update required to avoid login interruption" email scam?

After analyzing this email, we have discovered that it is a phishing email (it contains a link to a phishing website). Scammers behind it attempt to trick recipients into providing personal information such as email addresses and passwords required to access Microsoft and possibly other accounts.

"Update required to avoid login interruption" email scam in detail

We have examined the email and noticed that it is disguised as a letter from Microsoft. It claims that it is necessary to update the Microsoft account to avoid login interruption. It contains the "Update Now" button, which opens a phishing website asking to provide an email address and a password.

The email letter contains a Microsoft logo implying that recipients should update Microsoft accounts. However, scammers may try to use the provided login credentials to access email, social media, and other accounts. Either way, Microsoft (or any other legitimate company) has nothing to do with this email (or a page provided in it).

Threat Summary:

Name	Update required to avoid login interruption email scam
Threat Type	Phishing, Scam, Social Engineering, Fraud
Fake Claim	Microsoft account update is required to avoid login interruption
Related Domain	selcdn[.]ru
Detection Names (selcdn[.]ru)	CRDF (Malicious), Netcraft (Malicious), Quttera (Malicious), Webroot (Malicious), Full List Of Detections (VirusTotal)
Serving IP Address	92.53.68.204
Disguise	Letter from Microsoft
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.

Phishing emails in general

Scammers behind phishing emails attempt to trick recipients into providing login credentials, credit card details (and other banking-related information), or other sensitive information. Typically, they disguise their emails as official, urgent, important letters. Also, they include real logos, company names, etc.

More examples of similar email scams are "Cornèrcard Email Scam", "Account Version Is Outdated Email Scam", "Wage Bonus/Allowances Email Scam". It is important to mention that emails can be used to distribute malware.

How do spam campaigns infect computers?

Cybercriminals can use emails to distribute malware by attaching malicious files or including malicious links in them. Either way, their goal is to trick recipients into downloading and opening malicious MS Office, PDF documents, JavaScript, archive, executable, or other files. Malicious emails usually are disguised as letters from legitimate entities too.

How to avoid installation of malware?

Do not open attachments (and website links) presented in irrelevant emails sent from unknown, suspicious addresses. Always analyze emails before opening their contents. Also, avoid downloading files and programs from unofficial pages and other unreliable sources. Use official pages and direct links as sources for downloading them.

Update and activate the installed programs with tools provided by their official developers. Do not click on fake buttons or advertisements displayed on shady websites. 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 "Update required to avoid login interruption" email letter:

Subject: Check (12) Server Pending Mails **********

Microsoft
      
Update required to avoid login interruption
**********,

Our updated privacy policy will take effect on 31/01/2022 at 8:30 am as this is to better improve all user experience and also protect all third-party applications.

Action required now.
Update Now

Note: Further messages might be prevented if your ********** is not updated as supposed and accordingly.
You are receiving this email at ********** because your account has not been updated.

Please do not reply to this email. Emails sent to this address will not be answered.

Unsubscribe - Unsubscribe Preferences

Screenshot of the phishing website:

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▼ 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 Update required to avoid login interruption phishing email?
• 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 (addressed to someone in particular). Scammers send such emails to all the email addresses in their databases.

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

If you have provided login credentials, change all passwords immediately. Contact corresponding authorities if you have provided other personal information (such as credit card details, ID card information, etc.).

Can emails be used to distribute malware?

Yes, threat actors often use email attachments (or links in emails) to deliver malware. Either way, computers get infected only when recipients execute malicious files.

Will Combo Cleaner remove malware infections that were present in email attachment?

Yes, Combo Cleaner will scan the operating system and eliminate malware. It is important to know that high-end malware can hide deep in the operating system. For antivirus software to detect high-end malware, it is necessary to scan the system thoroughly (using the full scan option).

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