Avoid losing your email account via fake "Account Status At Risk" emails

What kind of email is "Account Status At Risk"?

After reviewing the "Account Status At Risk" email, we determined that it is spam. By making false claims that the recipient's email account will be suspended, it aims to trick them into providing their log-in credentials to a phishing website.

"Account Status At Risk" email scam overview

The spam email with the subject "Take steps to revalidate your mailbox ownership" (may vary) informs the recipient that their account is at risk. The letter instructs to confirm ownership of the email and avoid its suspension.

As mentioned in the introduction, all the claims made by this spam email are fake, and it is in no way associated with any legitimate entities.

The "Confirm Ownership" button redirected to a phishing site that mimics the recipient's email account sign-in webpage. Log-in credentials (passwords) entered into this page will be recorded and sent to the cyber criminals behind this spam campaign.

In addition to losing their email accounts, the recipients can have the content registered through them stolen as well. For example, criminals can use hijacked finance-related accounts (e.g., online banking, money transferring, e-commerce, digital wallets, etc.) to make unauthorized transactions and online purchases.

Scammers can also steal the identities of social account owners (e.g., emails, social networking, social media, messengers, etc.) and ask the contacts/friends for loans or donations, promote scams, and spread malware by sharing malicious files/links.

Sensitive, confidential, or compromising content hosted on file storage platforms can be used for blackmail. Various services (e.g., streaming, gaming, etc.) can likewise be misused in a variety of ways.

To summarize, victims of emails like "Account Status At Risk" can experience severe privacy issues, financial losses, and even identity theft.

If you have provided your account credentials – change the passwords of all potentially compromised accounts and contact their official support without delay.

Threat Summary:

Name	"Account Status At Risk" phishing email
Threat Type	Phishing, Scam, Social Engineering, Fraud
Fake Claim	Recipient's email account will be suspended unless its ownership is confirmed.
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 investigated thousands of spam campaigns; "Microsoft Outlook Account Will Be Disconnected", "Zelis Payment", and "Webmail Action Required" are just a couple examples of phishing emails.

Spam is used to facilitate a wide variety of scams and even to proliferate malware. Various tactics are used to gain and abuse recipients' trust. These letters can also be disguised as messages from legitimate companies, service providers, organizations, institutions, authorities, and other entities.

How do spam campaigns infect computers?

Spam campaigns proliferate malware by distributing malicious files in the form of attachments and download links. These files can be in various formats, e.g., archives (RAR, ZIP, etc.), executables (.exe, .run, etc.), documents (Microsoft Office, Microsoft OneNote, PDF, etc.), JavaScript, and so on.

When a virulent file is opened – the infection chain is triggered. However, some formats require additional interaction to jumpstart malware download/installation processes. For example, Microsoft Office files need users to enable macro commands (i.e., editing/content), while OneNote documents require them to click embedded links or files.

How to avoid installation of malware?

We strongly advise approaching incoming emails and other messages with care. Attachments or links present in suspect mail must not be opened, as they can be infectious. We recommend using Microsoft Office versions released after 2010 since they have the "Protected View" mode that prevents automatic macro command execution.

It must be mentioned that malware is not proliferated exclusively via spam mail. Therefore, another recommendation is to be cautious when browsing since fraudulent and malicious online content usually appears legitimate and harmless.

Additionally, all downloads must be performed from official and trustworthy sources. It is just as important to activate and update programs using genuine functions/tools, as illegal activation ("cracking") tools and third-party updates can contain malware.

We must emphasize that having a dependable anti-virus installed and kept up-to-date is essential for device and user safety. Security software must be used to run regular system scans and to remove 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 "Account Status At Risk" spam email letter:

Subject: Take steps to revalidate your mailbox ownership
      
Account Status at Risk

Confirm Mailbox Ownership Immediately to Prevent Suspension!

Confirm Ownership
  
Thank you,
-  Support Center

Screenshot of the phishing website promoted by the "Account Status At Risk" spam campaign:

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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 "Account Status At Risk" 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?

Cyber criminals distribute spam emails by the thousand; this mail is not personal.

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

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

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

Devices are infected when malicious attachments or links are opened; merely reading an email will not trigger any infection processes.

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

If the opened file was an executable (.exe, .run, etc.) – most likely, yes – your device was infected. However, you might have avoided triggering an infection if it was a document (.pdf, .doc, .xls, .one, etc.). These formats may require additional user interaction (e.g., enabling macro commands, clicking embedded content, etc.) to begin downloading/installing malware.

Will Combo Cleaner remove malware infections present in email attachments?

Yes, Combo Cleaner can detect and eliminate nearly all known malware infections. It must be stressed that running a complete system scan is paramount – since sophisticated malicious programs usually hide deep within systems.

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