Avoid losing your email account via fake "Deactivation Countdown" email

What kind of email is "Deactivation Countdown"?

After checking out the "Deactivation Countdown" email, we determined that it is spam. This mail operates as a phishing scam. It targets email log-in credentials (passwords) through false claims concerning an account deactivation.

"Deactivation Countdown" email scam overview

The spam email with the subject "Email Termination Notification (C) 2024." (may vary) informs the recipient that a request to terminate their account has been received. If they wish to stop the deactivation process, the recipient is to press the "Remove Email Address" button.

As mentioned in the introduction, this email notification is fake, and it is in no way associated with any genuine service providers or other entities.

After the button presented in the letter is clicked, it results in a redirect to a phishing site that imitates the recipient's email account sign-in page. This website asks the visitor to log in. Credentials entered into this page will be recorded and sent to scammers.

The risk exceeds the loss of an email, as these accounts are usually used to register other content – hence, it may also get stolen. To expand some on the potential misuse, cyber criminals can steal the owners' identities of certain accounts (e.g., emails, social media, social networking, messengers, etc.) and ask the contacts/friends/followers for loans or donations, promote scams, and spread malware by sharing malicious files/links.

Furthermore, should any confidential/compromising content be found on hijacked data storage or similar platforms – it could be used for blackmail or other nefarious purposes. What is more, stolen finance-related accounts (e.g., online banking, e-commerce, digital wallets, etc.) can be used to make fraudulent transactions and online purchases.

To summarize, victims of scam mail like "Deactivation Countdown" can experience severe privacy issues, financial losses, and even identity theft.

If you have already disclosed your log-in credentials – change the passwords of all possibly exposed accounts and contact their official support without delay.

Threat Summary:

Name	"Deactivation Countdown" phishing email
Threat Type	Phishing, Scam, Social Engineering, Fraud
Fake Claim	Request for account deactivation has been received.
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

"American Express - Call to Reset Your Account", "Western Union Money Transfer", "OneDrive - You Received Some Files", and "Price And Stock Availability" are just some examples of phishing emails we have inspected recently.

Spam letters are used to promote various scams and to proliferate malware. It is often the case that these emails are riddled with errors; however, they may be competently crafted and even disguised as messages from legitimate service providers, companies, institutions, authorities, and other entities.

How do spam campaigns infect computers?

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

An infectious file initiates the malware download/installation chain upon being opened. However, some formats can require additional user interaction to trigger system infection processes. For example, Microsoft Office files need users to enable macro commands (i.e., editing/content), while OneNote documents require them to click embedded files or links.

How to avoid installation of malware?

It is important to exercise caution with incoming emails, DMs/PMs, SMSes, and other messages. Attachments or links present in suspect mail must not be opened since they can be malicious. We recommend using Microsoft Office versions released after 2010, as their "Protected View" mode prevents automatic macro command execution.

It must be mentioned that malware is not spread only through spam mail. Therefore, we also advise being careful while browsing, as fraudulent and dangerous online content usually appears genuine and innocuous.

Furthermore, all downloads must be performed from official and trustworthy channels. Another recommendation is to activate and update software using legitimate functions/tools, as illegal activation ("cracking") tools and third-party updaters may contain malware.

We must emphasize that having a reputable anti-virus installed and kept updated is essential to device/user safety. Security programs must be used to run regular system scans and to remove detected threats. 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 "Deactivation Countdown" spam email letter:

Subject: Email Termination Notification (C) 2024.

Deactivation Countdown

Dear ********,

We received a request to Deactivate you Account ******** through your email address. Your Account will be Deactivated in:     
                                             
23 hours 59 minutes

You received this message because ******** is listed for the Account Deactivation. If that is incorrect, please press below to remove your email address from Deactivation list.

Remove Email Address

Sincerely,

******** Adminisitrator

Screenshot of the phishing website promoted by the "Deactivation Countdown" spam campaign:

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Quick menu:

• What is "Deactivation Countdown" 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?

Regardless of any relevant details that they may include, spam emails are not personal. This mail is distributed in large-scale operations – hence, thousands of users receive identical letters.

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

If you have provided your account credentials – change the passwords of all potentially compromised accounts and inform their official support. And if you've disclosed other private data (e.g., ID card details, passport scans/photos, 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; merely reading an email does not pose an infection threat.

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

Whether your device was infected might depend on the format of the opened file. If it was an executable (.exe, .run, etc.) – most likely, yes – the system was compromised. However, you might have avoided triggering an infection if it was a document (.doc, .xls, .one, .pdf, etc.). These formats may require extra actions to begin malware download/installation processes (e.g., enabling macro commands, clicking embedded content, etc.).

Will Combo Cleaner remove malware infections present in email attachments?

Yes, Combo Cleaner can detect and eliminate most of the known malware infections. It must be stressed that since sophisticated malicious programs usually hide deep within systems – performing a complete system scan is crucial.

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