How to spot scams like We are closing all mailbox users

What kind of scam is "We are closing all mailbox users"?

We inspected this email and concluded that it is a phishing email used to steal email account login credentials. It is disguised as a letter from an email service provider. It contains a website link designed to open a phishing page asking to provide a password.

"We are closing all mailbox users" email scam in detail

This letter claims that the email service provider will close the accounts that are still using the old version of the mailbox. It encourages recipients to upgrade their mailboxes to keep their accounts active. It states that the mailbox version can be upgraded via the provided website ("Upgrade inbox Version" button).

Clicking that button opens a fake login site (supposedly operated by ZOHO, a legitimate technology company. This site is used to steal email account passwords. It is important to know that stolen passwords may be used to access other accounts (if those accounts can be accessed with the same password and email address).

Threat Summary:

Name	We are closing all mailbox users Email Scam
Threat Type	Phishing, Scam, Social Engineering, Fraud
Fake Claim	Older versions of mailboxes will be closed
Related Domain	fleek.co
Detection Names	Abusix (Spam, Full List Of Detections (VirusTotal)
Serving IP Address	185.93.1.242
Disguise	Letter from email service provider
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

Phishing emails are disguised as important/official/urgent letters from legitimate companies (or other entities). Usually, scammers behind such emails attempt to obtain sensitive information such as credit card details, login credentials, ID card details, etc. Cybercriminals can also use email as a tool to deliver malware.

Examples of phishing emails are "Due To Recent Upgrade Or Error Email Scam", "Raiffeisen Bank Email Scam", "New Policy Notice Email Scam".

How do spam campaigns infect computers?

Cybercriminals who use emails to distribute malware attach a malicious file or include a malicious link in their letters. Their goal is to trick recipients into downloading and opening a malicious file. Most threat actors use MS Office or PDF documents, executables, JavaScript files, or archives to distribute malware.

How to avoid installation of malware?

Examine emails before opening links or attachments presented in them. Do not trust irrelevant emails sent from unknown or suspicious addresses. Also, avoid opening downloads from questionable sources. Use official pages and direct links to download files/programs.

Activate and update the installed software properly - achieve it using tools provided by the official developers. Do not allow shady websites to show notifications or click ads displayed by shady pages. 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 "We are closing all mailbox users" email letter:

Subject: ******** Deactivation Request

Dear ********,

We are closing all mailbox users that are still using the old version of  the  ******** mailbox.

Your email   (******** )  is still using this old version. Please tap the blue button below to upgrade to the latest version and get 105GB Free Space.

NOTE :  Failure to do this would lead to account termination.

1. below to upgrade and keep account active

Upgrade inbox Version

Connected to Mail-Portal    
© 2022  Corporation. All rights reserved.

Screenshot of a phishing website used to steal passwords:

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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 We are closing all mailbox users 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?

There is a high chance that you have received this email because your email address was in a data breach. Scammers send the same email to all addresses in their database. In other words, their emails are not personal.

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

If you have opened the presented website link and provided your password, we advise you to change all passwords as soon as possible.

I have downloaded and opened a malicious file attached to an email, is my computer infected?

It depends on the file type. If you have opened an executable file, your computer is likely already infected. However, if you have opened a malicious Microsoft Office document, your computer is not infected unless you enabled macros commands too.

I have read the email but didn't open the attachment, is my computer infected?

No, opening an email by itself is completely harmless.

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

Yes, Combo Cleaner can detect and eliminate almost all known malware. Computers infected with high-risk malware must be scanned using a full scan option. Otherwise, antivirus software will not be able to detect malware that hides deep in the operating system.

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