Avoid losing your account via fake "SMTP/Sendmail Service is Disabled" email

What kind of email is "SMTP/Sendmail Service is Disabled"?

Our inspection of the "SMTP/Sendmail Service is Disabled" email revealed that it is spam that operates as a phishing scam. These letters target recipients' email account log-in credentials by claiming that the ownership must be confirmed.

"SMTP/Sendmail Service is Disabled" email scam overview

The spam email claims that the recipient's mail service has been restricted. Allegedly, it will remain suspended until the email account's ownership is verified. The scam notification requests the recipient to click the "Verify Ownership" button to re-login using the current password.

This button opens a phishing website presented as an email account sign-in page. Note that the passwords entered into this fake webpage will be disclosed to the cyber criminals behind this spam campaign. In addition to having their emails stolen, victims can have content registered through the email hijacked as well.

To expand on what harm the criminals can cause, they can use social accounts (e.g., emails, social networking, messengers, etc.) to ask contacts/friends for loans under the guise of the real owner. These platforms can also be used to spread malware by sharing malicious files or links. Finance-related accounts (e.g., online banking, money transferring, digital wallets, etc.) can be used to make fraudulent transactions and/or online purchases.

To summarize, by trusting the "SMTP/Sendmail Service is Disabled" emails - users can experience serious privacy issues, financial losses, and identity theft.

Threat Summary:

Name	SMTP/Sendmail Service is Disabled phishing email
Threat Type	Phishing, Scam, Social Engineering, Fraud
Fake Claim	Email account ownership must be verified to use the mail services.
Related Domains	waves-enterprise[.]com
Detection Names (waves-enterprise[.]com)	Combo Cleaner (Phishing), Fortinet (Phishing), Heimdal Security (Phishing), Kaspersky (Phishing), Sophos (Phishing), Full List Of Detections (VirusTotal)
Serving IP Address (waves-enterprise[.]com)	160.153.131.197
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 spam campaign examples

We have analyzed countless spam emails; "336 Parts B.V.", "Coca Cola Lottery", and "Mail Delivery Successful" are a couple used for phishing that we inspected recently.

Deceptive emails can be employed for a wide variety of scams and even to proliferate malware (e.g., trojans, ransomware, etc.). These letters are usually presented as "official", "urgent", "important", and similar. Spam mail is widespread - therefore, we highly recommend exercising caution with incoming emails and messages.

How do spam campaigns infect computers?

Spam emails can have malicious files attached to them or contain their download links. These files can be Microsoft Office and PDF documents, archives, executables, JavaScript, etc. Once a virulent file is executed, run, or otherwise opened - the infection chain is jumpstarted. For example, Microsoft Office documents cause infections by executing malicious macro commands.

How to avoid installation of malware?

The attachments and links found in dubious or irrelevant emails/messages - must not be opened since that can result in a system infection. We also recommend using Microsoft Office versions released after 2010, as they have the "Protected View" mode that prevents automatic execution of macro commands.

However, malware is not distributed just through spam mail. Therefore, we also advise exercising caution when browsing. Additionally, all downloads must be performed from official and trustworthy sources.

Another recommendation is activating and updating programs with tools provided by legitimate developers, as illegal activation ("cracking") tools and fake updates may contain malware.

We must stress the importance of having a reputable anti-virus installed and kept updated. Security software must be used to run regular system scans and to remove detected/potential threats. 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 "SMTP/Sendmail Service is Disabled" scam email letter:

Subject: ******** Report: SMTP/Sendmail Service is Disabled until you confirm ownership.

 

Secure Messaging
Notification
********

 

Dear   ********

 

Reason: Restricted Mail Service.
Report: SMTP/Sendmail Service is Disabled     until you Verify ownership.

Date and Time   : 5/24/2022 6:11:22 a.m.

Please kindly use the below button to continue with the same password.

Verify Ownership
 
Further message might be prevented if any of above actions are not performed.
This email was sent to   ********.

 

Copyright © 2022 ******** Inc. All rights reserved.

Screenshot of the phishing website promoted by the "SMTP/Sendmail Service is Disabled" spam campaign:

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 SMTP/Sendmail Service is Disabled 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?

Spam emails are not personal, and neither is the "SMTP/Sendmail Service is Disabled" letter. Cyber criminals distribute these emails in large-scale operations with the hopes that at least some of the recipients will fall for their schemes.

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

If you have provided account log-in credentials - change the passwords of all possibly exposed accounts and contact their official support without delay. And if you have disclosed other personal data (e.g., ID card details, credit card numbers, etc.) - immediately contact relevant authorities.

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

No, opening/reading a spam email will not start any infection processes. Malware download/installation is triggered when the attachments or links present in this mail are opened/clicked.

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

Whether your system was infected may depend on the opened file's format. If it was an executable (.exe, .run, etc.) - most likely - yes. However, you might have avoided an infection if it was a document (.doc, .pdf, .xls, etc.). These formats may need additional user interaction (e.g., enabling macro commands) to begin downloading/installing malware.

Will Combo Cleaner remove malware infections present in email attachments?

Yes, Combo Cleaner can detect and eliminate practically all known malware infections. It has to be emphasized that performing a full system scan is key - since high-end malicious software typically hides deep within systems.

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