How to distinguish scams like "Notice Of Regular Maintenance"
Written by Tomas Meskauskas on (updated)
What kind of scam is "Notice Of Regular Maintenance"?
Upon examination, our team has assessed that the purpose of this email is to mislead recipients into divulging their personal information. These emails fall under the category of phishing attempts, wherein the senders, who are scammers, aim to deceive recipients into providing sensitive details on deceitful websites.
More about the "Notice Of Regular Maintenance" scam email
The email presents itself as a notice regarding routine maintenance and highlights its significance for the recipient to read thoroughly. It notifies the recipient that the owner of the registered email is required to verify the email address associated with a specific domain in accordance with the referenced act.
The email requests validation of the email address within a 24-hour timeframe and provides a link ("Validate Account Now") for the recipient to validate the account. A warning is included, indicating that failure to respond would result in the domain being closed.
Clicking on the provided link leads to a phishing page that has been crafted to imitate the appearance of the login page corresponding to the recipient's email address. For example, if the recipient uses Gmail, the phishing site pretends to be the Gmail login page.
In all scenarios, the intention behind this deceptive site is to entice recipients into furnishing their login credentials, including their email address and password. Scammers can exploit stolen email account login credentials in several harmful ways. They may acquire unauthorized access to the victim's email, potentially compromising sensitive personal and financial information.
Additionally, scammers can use the victim's email to impersonate them and engage in fraudulent activities, such as sending phishing emails or scams to the victim's contacts. Stolen credentials can also grant access to other online accounts linked to the same email address, amplifying the potential for identity theft and financial fraud.
| Name | Notice Of Regular Maintenance Email Scam |
| Threat Type | Phishing, Scam, Social Engineering, Fraud |
| Fake Claim | Ignoring this message will close the email account |
| Related Domain | mrkome[.]com |
| Detection Names | Antiy-AVL (Malicious), Full List Of Detections (VirusTotal) |
| Serving IP Address | 104.21.62.52 |
| Disguise | Letter from an 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. |
Similar scam emails in general
Phishing emails are designed to deceive recipients by masquerading as trustworthy sources. They frequently employ urgent or enticing messages to manipulate individuals into divulging personal information, login credentials, or funds. These deceptive emails can lead to potential hazards such as identity theft, financial loss, or malware infection.
Typically, such emails contain links or attachments. Examples of phishing emails are "IMAP Is Currently Marked Inactive", "We Hacked & Extracted Information From Your Device", and "Your Password Has Been Changed".
How do spam campaigns infect computers?
Cybercriminals frequently craft emails to appear authentic, enticing recipients into engaging with attachments or clicking on links. Unintentionally, recipients introduce malware into their computers when they interact with those email attachments or links.
Usually, malicious actors utilize ISO files, executable files (e.g., .exe), Microsoft Office documents (such as .doc, .xls), PDFs, and even scripts (like .js) for the dissemination of malware. If these files are opened, the malware can become active. How and whether infections occur depends on the types of infected files.
How to avoid installation of malware?
Obtain programs and files solely from reputable sources like official websites and legitimate stores. Exercise caution with emails, particularly when it comes to opening attachments or clicking links from unfamiliar senders. Keep your computer, antivirus, and other programs updated on a regular basis.
Be mindful of your online clicks, steer clear of pop-up ads, notifications from dubious websites, suspicious "Download" (or similar) buttons, urgent requests to update software on unofficial websites, etc. If you have already opened malicious attachments, we recommend running a scan with Combo Cleaner Antivirus for Windows to automatically eliminate infiltrated malware.
Text presented in the "Notice Of Regular Maintenance" email letter:
Subject:
Notice of regular maintenance. This is an important announcement, so please be sure to read it through to the end.Dear ********,
The owner of the registered e-mail must certify the e-mail address of the following domain name according to the ******** Act.
Affected domain (s): ********.
Please validate your email address within 24 hours.
Validate Account Now
Note: Ignoring this message will close the above domain.
Thank you,******** web manager.
All contents ˆ Copyright Sony Network Communications Inc.
Screenshot of the provided phishing website:
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Quick menu:
- What is Notice Of Regular Maintenance phishing campaign?
- 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?
You received a phishing email as cybercriminals target a wide range of recipients in their attempts to deceive and gain unauthorized access to personal information or financial details. These emails often appear genuine to trick recipients into taking actions that could compromise their security or privacy.
I have provided my personal information when tricked by this email, what should I do?
If you have shared your personal information due to falling for a deceptive email, it is crucial to take immediate action. Change all relevant passwords, monitor your accounts for suspicious activities, and consider contacting the relevant authorities or institutions to inform them of the potential breach.
I have downloaded and opened a malicious file attached to an email, is my computer infected?
If you have downloaded and opened a malicious file attached to an email, there is a significant risk that your computer could be infected. Engaging with a .exe file could expose your computer to potential vulnerabilities. Nevertheless, infections usually do not happen right away with other file formats like MS Office documents unless further actions are taken, such as enabling macro commands.
I have read the email but did not open the attachment, is my computer infected?
In general, there is no risk associated with opening emails. However, the threat emerges when you click on malicious links or open attachments that are included in those emails.
Will Combo Cleaner remove malware infections that were present in email attachment?
Combo Cleaner scans your computer and eliminates malware. It can identify the majority of well-known malware. It is crucial to conduct a comprehensive system scan to effectively remove advanced malware, as this type tends to conceal itself deeply within the system.
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