Avoid losing your email account via "Missed Call" phishing emails
Written by Tomas Meskauskas on
What kind of email is "Missed Call"?
After inspecting the "Missed Call" email, we determined that it is spam operating as a phishing scam. This mail promotes a phishing website that requests visitors to sign in with their email accounts. Hence, by trusting this fake letter - users can lose their email accounts and the content connected to them.
"Missed Call" email scam overview
The spam email contains the Microsoft logo but makes no mention of the corporation or its products by name. The letter states that the recipient has missed three calls and is given a date when the record will expire. By attempting to view it - users are redirected to a phishing site that also sports a small Microsoft logo.
This fake webpage requests visitors to sign in using their email accounts. The data (i.e., email password) entered into this page will be disclosed to the scammers behind this spam campaign.
Emails are typically used to register various accounts, platforms, services, and so on. It is possible for cyber criminals to use a stolen email account to gain access to the associated content.
Hijacked finance-related accounts (e.g., online banking, money transferring, e-commerce, etc.) can be used to make fraudulent transactions and/or online purchases. Scammers can also assume the identity of a social account's owner (e.g., email, social networking/media, messenger, chat, forum, etc.) and ask their contacts/friends/followers for loans or proliferate malware by sharing malicious files/links.
To summarize, by trusting spam emails - users can experience system infections, severe privacy issues, financial losses, and identity theft.
If you have already provided your log-in credentials - change the passwords of all potentially exposed accounts and contact their official support without delay.
| Name | "Missed Call" phishing email |
| Threat Type | Phishing, Scam, Social Engineering, Fraud |
| Fake Claim | Email claims that the recipient has missed three urgent calls. |
| Disguise | Microsoft |
| Related Domains | libertycorporate[.]site |
| Detection Names (libertycorporate[.]site) | Combo Cleaner (Malware), CyRadar (Malicious), ESET (Phishing), G-Data (Malware), Google Safebrowsing (Phishing), Kaspersky (Phishing), Full List Of Detections (VirusTotal) |
| Serving IP Address (libertycorporate[.]site) | 162.241.60.203 |
| 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 spam campaign examples
We have analyzed countless spam emails; "DHL Shipping Document/Invoice Receipt", "Microsoft Request Verification", and "Daily Quarantined Message Report" are merely a few examples of phishing campaigns.
In addition to various scams, these letters are used to proliferate malware (e.g., trojans, ransomware, cryptominers, etc.). Deceptive emails can make a wide variety of claims and even be disguised as messages from legitimate corporations, companies, service providers, organizations, institutions, and other entities.
How do spam campaigns infect computers?
Spam campaigns proliferate malware by distributing malicious files. They can be attached to the letters, or the emails can contain links leading to sites capable of stealthily downloading/installing malware or tricking visitors into doing so themselves.
Infectious files can be archives (RAR, ZIP, etc.), executables (.exe, .run, etc.), Microsoft Office and PDF documents, JavaScript, and so forth. When such a file is executed, run, or otherwise opened - the infection process is triggered. For example, Microsoft Office documents infect devices by executing malicious macro commands.
How to avoid installation of malware?
We strongly recommend exercising caution with incoming emails, PMs/DMs, SMSes, and other messages. The attachments/links found in dubious/irrelevant mail must not be opened since they can be malicious and cause system infections.
It is crucial to use Microsoft Office versions released after 2010, as they have the "Protected View" mode that prevents automatic macro command execution.
However, malware is not distributed exclusively via spam mail. Therefore, we also advise downloading only from official and trustworthy channels. Additionally, software must be activated and updated using functions/tools provided by genuine developers, as illegal activation tools ("cracks") and third-party updaters can contain malware.
Another recommendation is to be careful while browsing since fraudulent and dangerous online content typically appears legitimate.
We must stress the importance of having a reputable anti-virus installed and kept updated. Security programs must be used to run regular system scans and to remove detected 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 "Missed Call" spam email letter:
Subject: Urgent Missed Call Message for -
3 Missed Call for (-) , Record will expire at Monday, November 28, 2022
Screenshot of the phishing website promoted by the "Missed Call" spam campaign:
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Quick menu:
- What is "Missed Call" 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. These letters are distributed in massive operations - hence, thousands of users receive identical emails.
I have provided my personal information when tricked by this spam email, what should I do?
If you've disclosed your account credentials - immediately change the passwords of all possibly compromised accounts and inform their official support. And if you have revealed other private data (e.g., ID card details, credit card numbers, etc.) - contact the appropriate authorities without delay.
I have read a spam email but didn't open the attachment, is my computer infected?
No, opening/reading an email is harmless in itself. Systems are infected when the malicious attachments or links present in spam mail are opened/clicked.
I have downloaded and opened a file attached to a spam email, is my computer infected?
If it was an executable (.exe, .run, etc.) - most likely, yes - your device was infected. However, documents (.doc, .xls, .pdf, etc.) may need additional actions (e.g., enabling macro commands) to start downloading/installing malicious software.
Will Combo Cleaner remove malware infections present in email attachments?
Yes, Combo Cleaner can scan systems, as well as detect and eliminate practically all known malware infections. It must be stressed that since sophisticated malicious programs tend to hide deep within systems - performing a full system scan is paramount.
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