Avoid having your account stolen via "Email Authentication Expires" spam

What kind of email is "Email Authentication Expires"?

Upon review, we determined that the "Email Authentication Expires" email is spam. This phishing letter informs the recipient that their email account authentication is due to expire. The goal is to deceive recipients into disclosing their log-in credentials (i.e., passwords), thus allowing the scammers to steal the exposed accounts.

"Email Authentication Expires" email scam overview

The spam email with the subject "[recipient's_email_address]: Please confirm to continue." (may vary) states that the recipient's account authentication expires on the specified date. The letter urges to press the "Continue" button in order to keep or change the email password.

It must be stressed that the claims made by this email are false, and this mail is not associated with any legitimate service providers.

After the button presented in this letter is clicked, it results in a redirect to a phishing site disguised as an email account sign-in page. Log-in credentials typed into this webpage will be recorded and sent to scammers.

Victims of this scheme risk more than just losing their email accounts. Emails are typically used to register other content; hence, access might be gained to the accounts and platforms associated with them.

To expand upon this, cyber criminals can steal the identities of social account owners (e.g., emails, social networking, messages, etc.) and ask the contacts/friends/followers for loans or donations, promote scams, and spread malware by sharing malicious files/links.

Furthermore, sensitive/confidential content discovered on compromised data storage or similar platforms could be used for blackmail or other malicious purposes. What is more, stolen finance-related accounts (e.g., online banking, money transferring, e-commerce, digital wallets, etc.) can be used to facilitate fraudulent transactions or online purchases.

To summarize, by trusting an email like "Email Authentication Expires" – users may experience severe privacy issues, financial losses, and even identity theft.

If you have already provided your log-in credentials to a phishing website – change the passwords of all potentially exposed accounts and contact their official support without delay.

Threat Summary:

Name	"Email Authentication Expires" phishing email
Threat Type	Phishing, Scam, Social Engineering, Fraud
Fake Claim	Recipient's email authentication will expire soon.
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

"Adobe Scan email scam", "IPS Pending Package Delivery", "DHL Unpaid Duty", and "Incoming Mail Notification" are just a few examples of phishing emails we have investigated recently.

It is pertinent to mention that various scams are promoted through this mail. Additionally, spam is used to proliferate all kinds of malware. While infamous for being riddled with grammatical and spelling errors, spam emails may be competently disguised as messages from genuine service providers, organizations, authorities, and other entities.

Due to how prevalent spam mail is and how well-made it can be – we strongly recommend caution with incoming emails, PMs/DMs, SMSes, and other messages.

How do spam campaigns infect computers?

Cyber criminals often use spam campaigns to proliferate malware. Deceptive emails/messages can include malicious files as attachments or download links. These files come in various formats, e.g., archives (RAR, ZIP, etc.), executables (.exe, .run, etc.), documents (PDF, Microsoft Office, Microsoft OneNote, etc.), JavaScript, and so on.

Once opened, a virulent file initiates the system infection chain. However, some formats may need additional actions to trigger malware download/installation processes. For example, Microsoft Office files require users to enable macro commands (i.e., editing/content), while OneNote documents need them to click embedded files/links.

How to avoid installation of malware?

It is important to approach incoming emails and other messages with care. We advise against opening attachments or links found in dubious/irrelevant mail, as they can be malicious. We recommend using Microsoft Office versions released after 2010 since they have the "Protected View" mode that prevents automatic macro execution.

It must be mentioned that malware is not spread only via spam mail. Therefore, we also advise downloading from official/verified channels. Additionally, all programs must be activated and updated using legitimate functions/tools, as illegal activation tools ("cracks") and third-party updates may contain malware.

Another recommendation is to be vigilant while browsing since fraudulent and dangerous online content usually appears genuine and harmless.

We must stress the importance of having a dependable anti-virus installed and kept up-to-date. This software must be used to perform regular system scans and to remove threats/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 "Email Authentication Expires" spam email letter:

Subject: [********]: Please confirm to continue.

********Mail

Hi ********

Please note ******** authentication expires 06 December, 2023.

Continue

Please continue to keep or change your password.

Regards,
******** Mail

Screenshot of the phishing website promoted by the "Email Authentication Expires" spam campaign:

Screenshot of another phishing website promoted using this email:

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Quick menu:

• What is "Email Authentication Expires" 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 in large-scale operations – therefore, thousands of users receive identical messages.

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

If you have disclosed your log-in credentials – change the passwords of all possibly compromised accounts and inform their official support. If the disclosed information was of a different personal nature (e.g., ID card details, passport photos/scans, credit card numbers, etc.) – contact the appropriate 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/clicked; merely reading an email is harmless.

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

The format of the opened file might have made a difference. Executables (.exe, .run, etc.) cause infections almost without fail upon being opened. While some documents (.doc, .xls, .pdf, etc.) may require additional user interaction to initiate malware download/installation chains (e.g., enabling macro commands, clicking embedded content, etc.).

Will Combo Cleaner remove malware infections present in email attachments?

Yes, Combo Cleaner is designed to detect and eliminate all manner of threats. It is capable of finding and removing practically all known malware infections. Note that since high-end malicious programs usually hide deep within systems – running a complete system scan is paramount.

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