Avoid losing your email account via fake "Webmail - Mail Basic" email

What kind of email is "Webmail - Mail Basic"?

After inspecting the "Webmail - Mail Basic" email, we determined that it is spam. This fake message claims that the email security server was updated and a new mailbox was set up. The recipient can configure and begin using the nonexistent account by following the linked website, which is a phishing page that targets email log-in credentials.

"Webmail - Mail Basic" email scam overview

The spam email with the subject "Customer update for [recipient's_email_address] 2-New Messages" (may vary) notifies that the email security servers were updated. Additionally, a "Mail Basic mailbox" was set up for the recipient. The letter instructs to update the security settings in order to begin using the newly created mailbox. Failing to implement the updates within 24 hours will result in the deletion of the recipient's email account.

It must be stressed that the information provided in this message is false, and this mail is not associated with any legitimate service providers or other entities.

Pressing "Webmail Login" results in a redirect to a phishing website that imitates the recipient's email sign-in page. Log-in credentials entered into this site are recorded and sent to scammers. Emails tend to include sensitive and even confidential information, which cyber criminals could use for blackmail or other nefarious purposes.

Furthermore, access to other accounts, platforms, and services might be gained through a compromised email used to register them.

To expand upon the potential abuse, scammers can steal the identities of account owners (e.g., emails, social networking, messengers, etc.) and request loans or donations from contacts/friends/followers, promote scams, and proliferate malware by sharing malicious links/files

Criminals can use stolen finance-related accounts (e.g., e-commerce, digital wallets, money transferring, online banking, etc.) to make fraudulent transactions or online purchases.

In summary, by trusting an email like "Webmail - Mail Basic" – users can experience severe privacy issues, financial losses, and identity theft.

If you have already provided your log-in credentials – immediately change the passwords of all potentially compromised accounts and contact their official support.

Threat Summary:

Name	"Webmail - Mail Basic" phishing email
Threat Type	Phishing, Scam, Social Engineering, Fraud
Fake Claim	Email security servers were updated and a new mailbox was set up for the recipient.
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 Contract Agreement", "Adobe Cloud Service", "MailBox De-activation", and "Invoice For Our Recent Order" are just a few of our latest articles on phishing emails.

Aside from log-in credentials, they commonly target personally identifiable information and finance-related data. However, other scams are promoted through spam mail as well. Additionally, it is widely used in malware proliferation.

Due to how prevalent this mail is and how well-crafted it can be – we strongly advise exercising caution with incoming emails, DMs/PMs, SMSes, and other messages.

How do spam campaigns infect computers?

Cyber criminals often use spam campaigns to distribute malware. Spam emails/messages can include malicious files as attachments or download links. These files can be documents (PDF, Microsoft Office, Microsoft OneNote, etc.), archives (ZIP, RAR, etc.), executables (.exe, .run, etc.), JavaScript, and so on.

Merely opening such a file can be enough to trigger malware download/installation. However, some formats require additional actions to initiate system infection processes. For example, Microsoft Office files need users to enable macro commands (i.e., editing/contact), while OneNote documents require them to click on embedded files or links.

How to avoid installation of malware?

Incoming emails and other messages must be approached with caution. Therefore, do not open attachments or links found in suspicious/irrelevant mail, as they can be harmful or virulent.

However, malware is spread using various techniques. Hence, be careful while browsing since the Internet is rife with well-disguised fraudulent and malicious content.

Furthermore, download only from official and trustworthy channels. Activate and update programs using functions/tools provided by legitimate developers, as illegal activation ("cracking") tools and third-party updaters may contain malware.

It is paramount for device integrity and user safety to have a reputable anti-virus installed and kept up-to-date. Security software must be used to run regular system scans and to remove detected threats and 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 "Webmail - Mail Basic" spam email letter:

Subject: Customer update for ******** 2-New Messages

Webmail

Customer Service
Customer update for ********

Welcome to Mail Basic

Dear Customer,

We have updated our email security servers.

We have now set up a Mail Basic mailbox for you.

To use Mail Basic and update you security settings, simply log in to Webmail with your email address and password.

 

Webmail Login

Failure to login and manage your Mail Basic account will amount to deletion of your email account ******** from our primary server 24 hours from 8/13/2024 6:16:04 a.m.

Further information about Mail Basic

Sincerely,
Customer Experience

Your digital partner

From product setup to growing online, your personal consultant is here to help you succeed.

Appearance of the "Webmail - Mail Basic" spam email (GIF):

Screenshot of the phishing website promoted by the "Webmail - Mail Basic" spam campaign:

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▼ 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 "Webmail - Mail Basic" 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?

Spam emails are not personal, regardless of any relevant information that they may include. Any such data is usually obtained through publicly available sources or phishing scams. Cyber criminals send out this mail in massive operations – hence, thousands of users receive identical (or incredibly similar) emails.

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 exposed accounts and inform their official support without delay. However, if the provided information was of a different personal nature (e.g., ID card details, passport scans, credit card numbers, etc.) – immediately contact the corresponding authorities.

I have read a spam email but didn't open the attachment, is my computer infected?

Merely reading an email will not initiate any malware download/installation processes. Devices are infected when malicious attachments or links are opened/clicked.

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

If the opened file was an executable (.exe, .run, etc.) – most likely, yes – the system was infected. However, you might have avoided this if it was a document (.doc, .xls, .pdf, .pdf, etc.). These formats may need extra interaction (e.g., enabling macros, clicking embedded content, etc.) to jumpstart malware download/installation chains.

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 emphasized that performing a complete system scan is paramount since high-end malicious programs typically hide deep within systems.

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