How to recognize scams like "OpenSea Mystery Boxes" email scam

What is "OpenSea Mystery Boxes"?

We have inspected the email and found that it is a scam email posing as a notification regarding a special gift. The scammers behind this fraudulent email seek to deceive unsuspecting individuals into disclosing personal information. Recipients of such emails should ignore them.

More about the "OpenSea Mystery Boxes" scam email

This scam email claims to be from OpenSeaOpenSea (an American non-fungible token marketplace). It offers free mystery boxes to OpenSea users and encourages the recipient to claim their box and enjoy potential rewards ranging from $20 to $10,000. The email also includes a "Claim Now" button and promotes a free public mint offer.

At the time of our examination, the link in this email ("Claim Now") was non-functional, as the page was unavailable. However, such emails usually contain links to phishing emails designed to extract personal information from users, like credit card details, login credentials, or other information.

The goal is to steal information for malicious purposes, such as identity theft or unauthorized financial transactions. Also, scammers often seek to extract login credentials and access accounts to send phishing emails (or malware) to contacts, check them for personal information, or other purposes.

Overall, it is strongly recommended not to respond to suspicious emails or provide sensitive information on dubious web pages to avoid monetary loss, identity theft, computer infections, or other possible consequences.

Threat Summary:

Name	OpenSea Mystery Boxes Email Scam
Threat Type	Phishing, Scam, Social Engineering, Fraud
Fake Claim	Recipients can receive a special gift
Disguise	Letter from OpenSea
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

Fraudulent emails often contain urgent or enticing text designed to prompt immediate action. They typically contain suspicious links or attachments to trick users into disclosing personal information. They can also contain files or links designed to deliver malware. Recipients should be careful when encountering emails of this kind.

Some examples of scam emails are "We Cannot Process Payment", "EUROMILLONES LOTERIA INTERNATIONAL", and "Yahoo Canada Lottery".

How do spam campaigns infect computers?

When cybercriminals use email to distribute malware, they send malicious files as attachments or links. Their goal is to trick recipients into taking actions resulting in malware execution. Files attached to emails can be MS Office documents, executables, JavaScript files, ISO files, archives, etc.

Malicious executables usually infect computers immediately after opening. Other files typically require additional user interaction. For instance, infected MS Office documents cannot inject malware until users enable macros commands. Links in fraudulent emails can take users to websites designed to trick users into downloading malware or pages that automatically download harmful files or programs.

How to avoid installation of malware?

Avoid opening links or files in unexpected or irrelevant emails, especially from unknown senders. Refrain from installing pirated software or using unauthorized tools like key generators, as these can be sources of malware. Always download software from official pages or app stores.

Also, avoid clicking pop-ups, ads, or buttons on suspicious websites. Keep your operating system and software up to date to protect against vulnerabilities. Additionally, regularly scan your computer with a trusted security tool. 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 "OpenSea Mystery Boxes" email letter:

Subject: A Special Gift for You – Open Your Mystery Box!

OpenSea

Hello,

We are offering free mystery boxes to OpenSea users.
Claim yours, and enjoy your experience.

[Claim Now]

FREE PUBLIC MINT!

REWARDS : Between 20$ and 10.000$

Mystery Box By Opensea

Please do not reply directly to this email. For any questions, please click here to contact our Support Center.

228 Park Ave South #22014, New York, NY 10003

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 OpenSea Mystery Boxes 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?

Phishing emails are often not personal. They are usually generic and designed to reach a wide audience. In other words, scammers send the same email to all addresses they have.

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

Depending on the compromised information, immediately change your passwords and (or) report the incident to relevant authorities.

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

If the file was an executable, it likely caused an infection. However, if it was a document (.pdf, .doc, or similar), you might have avoided an infection, as merely opening such documents does not always result in malware infiltration.

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

No, opening an email is harmless. However, clicking on links or opening attachments in the email that can result in system infections.

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

Yes, Combo Cleaner effectively finds and removes almost all known malware. Advanced malware can be deeply embedded in the system, so a full system scan is necessary.

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