How to identify scams like "Privacy Policy"
Written by Tomas Meskauskas on
What kind of scam is "Privacy Policy"?
After a thorough review, it has been observed that this email is a scam, cleverly disguised as a notification from an email service provider regarding policy changes. The scammers orchestrating this scheme intend to deceive recipients into revealing personal information. Such deceptive emails are commonly referred to as phishing emails.
More about the "Privacy Policy" scam email
This phishing email, with the subject "Our policy have changed", falsely claims to be notifying the recipient about updates to the privacy policy related to certain features. The email threatens account suspension, stating that email addresses will not be accepted during a specified notice period and access will be suspended starting from 12/18/2023 (the date may vary).
To purportedly avoid account suspension, the recipient is urged to "accept terms" via a provided link. The email is designed to manipulate the recipient into clicking on the link and providing personal information, thereby falling victim to a phishing scam.
The hyperlink in this email directs users to a deceptive website masquerading as the authentic Gmail sign-in page. On this fraudulent site, users are prompted to enter their email address and password. If submitted, this information is then transmitted to the scammers orchestrating the phishing scam.
Scammers use stolen email account login credentials for various malicious activities, including unauthorized access to sensitive information, identity theft, fraudulent financial transactions, and spreading phishing attacks to the victim's contacts.
Stolen email account login credentials may grant scammers unauthorized access not only to the compromised email account but also potentially to other accounts where the victim uses the same login information, heightening the risk of broader privacy and security breaches.
| Name | Privacy Policy Email Scam |
| Threat Type | Phishing, Scam, Social Engineering, Fraud |
| Fake Claim | The policy of an email service provider has changed |
| Related Domain | premium[.]click |
| Detection Names (premium[.]click) | Fortinet (Spam), Sophos (Spam), Full List Of Detections (VirusTotal) |
| 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. |
Similar scam emails in general
Phishing emails commonly share traits such as deceptive sender addresses, urgent or alarming language, requests for sensitive information, and often contain malicious links or attachments. Typically, scammers use phishing emails to obtain credit card details, login credentials, social security numbers, or other data.
Also, they can use emails to trick users into infecting computers. Some examples of phishing campaigns are "Chunghwa Post", "LEDGER SECURITY", and "Glacier Bank".
How do spam campaigns infect computers?
When cybercriminals deliver malware via email, they aim to trick users into interacting with harmful links or attachments. Clicking on such links can expose users to websites that host malware or trigger harmful drive-by downloads.
Attachments within such emails often masquerade as harmless documents, such as invoices or shipping notifications, containing deceptive attachments like MS Office or PDF documents, JavaScript files, or executables. When users open these attachments, they initiate the execution of malware. However, simply opening files may not always lead to computer infections.
How to avoid installation of malware?
Steer clear of questionable websites and exclusively download software from trustworthy sources. Exercise caution when interacting with ads or pop-ups. Do not open email attachments and links, especially if the sender is unfamiliar and (or) the email is irrelevant or unexpected. Avoid downloading pirated software or related tools.
Maintain the security of your operating system and software by routinely applying the latest security patches. Keep your antivirus and anti-malware software up to date and conduct regular system scans to detect potential threats.
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 "Privacy Policy" email letter:
Subject: Our policy have changed
******** Policy Change
Dear ********,Our Privacy Policy have been updated to reflect to our features. Email addresses will not be accepted throughout this notice period, we will have your ******** access suspended starting from 12/18/2023 4:13:01 p.m.
Kindly Accept terms below to avoid account suspension.
accept terms********©.
Thanks,
Phishing page presented in this email:
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Quick menu:
- What is Privacy Policy phishing scam?
- 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?
This email is part of a widespread tactic where scammers send identical messages to numerous recipients, hoping that someone will be deceived. These emails are never personal.
I have provided my personal information when tricked by this email, what should I do?
If you have shared your email account credentials (email address and password), promptly change all passwords, especially if other accounts can be accessed using the same or similar credentials.
I have downloaded and opened a file attached to this email, is my computer infected?
If the file was an executable, there is a strong possibility of infection. However, if it was a document (e.g., .pdf, .doc), there may be no infection, as simply opening certain files is not adequate for malware infiltration.
I have read the email but did not open the attachment, is my computer infected?
No, opening an email is harmless. Recipients can infect computers by opening links or files within emails.
Will Combo Cleaner remove malware infections that were present in email attachment?
Combo Cleaner is capable of detecting and eliminating nearly all malware. Keep in mind that sophisticated malware may hide deeply in the system, so conducting a full system scan is essential.
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