Avoid losing your email account via fake "Mailbox Software Update" emails

What kind of email is "Mailbox Software Update"?

Our inspection of the "Mailbox Software Update" email revealed that it is spam. Emails belonging to this campaign operate as phishing scams targeting mail account log-in credentials. The spam letters make false claims about a pending update to the email account and promote a phishing website presented as a sign-in page.

"Mailbox Software Update" email scam overview

The spam email informs the recipient that a new version of "mailbox software" has been released. The recipient is urged to update their email account since if it is not done within 48 hours - they will be logged out of their mailbox and the critical information therein.

As mentioned in the introduction, this email is fake, as are all its claims. Hence, the "UPDATE VERSION" button in this email - redirects to a phishing site. The webpage is disguised as an email account sign-in page.

The email addresses and corresponding passwords entered into this website will be disclosed to the scammers behind this spam campaign. With this data in their possession, the cyber criminals will be able to steal the exposed emails. Furthermore, these accounts are usually used to register other content - therefore, scammers might be able to hijack it as well.

To elaborate on how criminals can abuse the unauthorized access, they can use communication accounts (e.g., emails, social media, social networking, messengers, etc.) to ask the contacts/friends for loans or proliferate malware - under the guise of the genuine owners. Stolen finance-related accounts (e.g., online banking, e-commerce, digital wallets, etc.) can be used to make fraudulent transactions and/or online purchases.

To summarize, by trusting an email like "Mailbox Software Update" - users may experience system infections, severe privacy issues, financial losses, and even identity theft.

If you have already disclosed your log-in credentials - change the passwords of all potentially compromised accounts and contact their official support without delay.

Threat Summary:

Name	"Mailbox Software Update" phishing email
Threat Type	Phishing, Scam, Social Engineering, Fraud
Fake Claim	New update is available for the mailbox software.
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

"Netflix - We've Suspended Your Membership", "New Sign-in With Your Mail Account", and "Storage Capacity" are just a few examples of phishing emails that we have inspected recently.

Aside from various scams, these letters are also used to distribute malware (e.g., trojans, ransomware, etc.). Scam mail can be presented as "official", "important", "urgent", and similar. These deceptive messages can even be disguised as emails from legitimate companies, service providers, organizations, institutions, or other entities.

Due to how widespread spam mail is, we highly recommend exercising caution with incoming emails and other messages.

How do spam campaigns infect computers?

Infectious files can be attached to or linked inside spam emails. These files can be executables (.exe, .run, etc.), archives (RAR, ZIP, etc.), Microsoft Office and PDF documents, JavaScript, and so forth.

When such a file is executed, run, or otherwise opened - the infection process is jumpstarted. For example, Microsoft Office documents infect devices by executing malicious macro commands.

How to avoid installation of malware?

We strongly recommend being careful with incoming emails, PMs/DMs, and other messages. The attachments and links found in suspicious/irrelevant mail - must not be opened, as they can be malicious and cause system infections. Another recommendation is to use Microsoft Office versions released after 2010 since they have the "Protected View" mode that prevents automatic macro execution.

However, malware is not spread exclusively via spam mail. Therefore, we advise downloading only from official/verified sources and activating/updating software using genuine tools/functions (as illegal activation tools ["cracks"] and fake updaters may contain malicious programs).

It is just as important to be cautious while browsing since fraudulent and harmful online content usually appears legitimate and innocuous.

We must stress the importance of having a dependable antivirus installed and kept updated. Security software must be used to run regular system scans and to remove detected threats and issues. 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 "Mailbox Software Update" spam email letter:

Subject: You have an update for your mailbox -

Valued -,

We have released a new version of mailbox software,update from below.

UPDATE VERSION

You have 48 hours remaining to update to the latest version and avoid being logged out of your mailbox and important data.

©2022 - All Rights Reserved.

Screenshot of the phishing website promoted by the "Mailbox Software Update" spam campaign:

Another example of mailbox update-themed spam email:

Text presented within:

Subject: Important Update Required For ********

 

Valued ********,

You have an important mailbox update, click below for your mailbox update to be completed.

UPDATE MAILBOX

You have 48 hours to complete the update to avoid being logged out of your mailbox and avoid important data loss.

******** Administrator Services. All Rights Reserved

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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 "Mailbox Software Update" 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. Cyber criminals distribute these letters in massive operations with the hopes that at least some recipients will fall for their scams.

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

If you have already provided your log-in credentials - change the passwords of all potentially compromised accounts and inform their official support without delay. And if you've disclosed other private data (e.g., ID card details, credit card numbers, etc.) - immediately contact the appropriate authorities.

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

No, merely opening an email will not trigger any malware download/installation processes. Systems are infected when the attachments or links found in spam mail are opened/clicked.

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

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

Will Combo Cleaner remove malware infections present in email attachments?

Yes, Combo Cleaner is capable of detecting and eliminating most of the known malware infections. Note that sophisticated malicious programs usually hide deep within systems - hence, performing a full system scan is essential for detection.

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