How to avoid falling for scams like "Your Password Is Expiring"

What kind of scam is "Your Password Is Expiring"?

After assessing this email, our team has concluded that its intention is to mislead recipients into providing personal information. Such emails are categorized as phishing attempts, and the scammers behind this particular email are aiming to deceive recipients into providing sensitive information on a fake login website.

More about the "Your Password Is Expiring" scam email

The email indicates an imminent password expiration to the recipient. It notifies the recipient that a new password will be automatically generated by the system. It further explains that access to the mailbox will be restricted for approximately 12 hours until the service is reinstated.

The recipient is advised to maintain their existing password and prevent its modification by utilizing a provided button labeled "Keep Using Old Password". Clicking this button leads to a fake login website where visitors are asked to provide email account login credentials (email address and password).

This phishing website has been crafted to imitate the visual design of the recipient's email account's login page. For instance, if the recipient uses Yahoo Mail, the phishing webpage mirrors the appearance of the Yahoo Mail login page.

Sharing email account login credentials with scammers can lead to significant repercussions. They can illicitly access your email account, potentially reaching personal and sensitive data like emails, contacts, and documents. These scammers could exploit the account to send harmful emails to contacts, disseminate malware, or initiate phishing attacks.

Additionally, scammers might leverage the accessed account to initiate password resets for other online services, thereby gaining entry to other accounts. Ultimately, divulging login credentials to scammers jeopardizes online privacy, security, and identity.

Threat Summary:

Name	Your Password Is Expiring Email Scam
Threat Type	Phishing, Scam, Social Engineering, Fraud
Fake Claim	Recipient's password will automatically reset if action is not taken
Disguise	Notification 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. ▼ 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.

Similar scam emails in general

Phishing emails are deceptive messages designed to trick recipients into revealing personal information, such as passwords or financial details. These emails often imitate legitimate sources like banks or well-known companies, urging recipients to click on malicious links or download harmful attachments.

Caution is crucial when dealing with emails from unknown senders or unexpected requests for sensitive information to avoid falling victim to these scams. Examples of phishing emails are "USPS - Your Package Is Waiting For Delivery", "Queued Messages Notification Email Scam", and "Security Risk For Your Email".

How do spam campaigns infect computers?

Cybercriminals frequently craft emails with an authentic appearance, enticing individuals to open attachments or click on links. Unbeknownst to recipients, these actions introduce malware into their computers.

Usually, malicious actors utilize formats like ISO files, executable files (such as .exe), Microsoft Office documents (like .doc, .xls), PDFs, and even scripts (e.g., .js) to distribute malware. Upon opening these files, the malware can become operational if no other actions (e.g., enabling macros commands in documents) are required for the malware to be activated.

How to avoid installation of malware?

Opt for secure downloads by exclusively obtaining software from reputable sources such as official websites and authorized stores. Exercise caution when dealing with emails, particularly when it comes to opening attachments or clicking links from unknown senders.

Maintain the regular updating of your computer, antivirus software, and other applications. Exercise prudence while navigating the internet, steer clear of pop-up ads, and contemplate using tools to prevent exposure to malicious content.

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 "Your Password Is Expiring" email letter:

Subject: WARNING: ******** Password to expire within 12hrs.

Attention: -

Your password is expiring. The system will generate a new password for you automatically.

Your access to your mailbox will be limited for up to 12 hours before service can be restored.

To retain your password and avoid change, simply use the button below.

Keep Using Old Password

Phishing email promoted via this scam:

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 Your Password Is Expiring 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?

Scammers send out identical messages to numerous individuals, intending to trap someone in their fraudulent scheme. As a rule, these unsolicited emails lack any personalization.

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, change all relevant passwords, closely monitor your accounts for any suspicious activities, and consider informing the relevant authorities or institutions about the potential security breach.

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

If you have opened a malicious email attachment, your computer might be compromised. Certain file types, such as .exe files, pose a higher risk. However, for file types like MS Office documents, infections generally occur when additional actions like enabling macros are taken.

I have read the email but did not open the attachment, is my computer infected?

In general, opening emails is not a risky action. The potential danger emerges when you engage with malicious links or attachments contained within those emails.

Will Combo Cleaner remove malware infections that were present in email attachment?

Combo Cleaner eliminates malware from computers. It can effectively detect the majority of well-known malicious software. Performing a comprehensive system scan is essential for removing advanced malware, as this type of malware tends to be deeply concealed within the system.

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