How to avoid falling for scams like "OpenSea Offer Alert"
Written by Tomas Meskauskas on (updated)
What kind of scam is "OpenSea Offer Alert"?
Our team has examined this email and concluded that it is a scam email (a phishing attempt) masquerading as a notification from OpenSea regarding a new offer. Usually, scammers use phishing emails like this one to extract personal information. Recipients should ignore emails of this type.
More about the "OpenSea Offer Alert" scam email
This scam email pretends to be from OpenSea (a popular NFT marketplace), claiming that a new offer has been placed on your NFT listing. It provides specific offer details and a fake "Offer ID” to seem legitimate. It urges the recipient to click a link (“Review Offer" button, which leads to a deceptive site.
On the page promoted through this scam email, the recipient is informed that a new offer has been received and instructed to review and finalize offers by connecting a wallet. However, connecting a wallet (providing the information required to access a cryptocurrency wallet) signs a malicious contract.
Once this contract is signed, a cryptocurrency drainer is activated. The purpose of this drainer is to steal cryptocurrency from victims. It transfers cryptocurrency funds from the wallet connected by a victim to the scammer's wallet. Simply put, the executed drainer steals cryptocurrency from victims.
Once cryptocurrency is sent to scammers, it is nearly impossible to retrieve because transactions on blockchain networks are irreversible and cannot be undone. Thus, it is important to be careful when using cryptocurrency platforms and verify their legitimacy before connecting wallets, making transactions, or taking other actions.
| Name | OpenSea Offer Alert Email Scam |
| Threat Type | Phishing, Scam, Social Engineering, Fraud |
| Fake Claim | The recipient has a new offer from OpenSea |
| Related Domain | opennseaa[.]com |
| Disguise | Letter from OpenSea (legitimate NFT marketplace) |
| 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 are deceptive messages created to lure recipients into disclosing personal details directly via email or fraudulent websites. Falling for such emails can result in identity theft, financial losses, and other issues. Thus, recipients should always examine emails before responding or entering information on websites received via email.
Some examples of fraudulent emails are "Important Notice", "Review This File Below", and "You Have A New Document" . It is worth noting that email can be used to deliver malicious software.
How do spam campaigns infect computers?
When threat actors attempt to spread malware through email, they send malicious files or links. Malware can enter a system when users run malicious executables, enable macros in MS Office documents containing malware, or perform other actions. Fraudulent email links can direct users to websites designed to deceive them into downloading malicious software.
Moreover, web pages presented in deceptive emails can be designed to automatically download malware onto a computer. Other examples of file types used to distribute malware include PDFs, archives, ISO files, and JavaScript files.
How to avoid installation of malware?
Exercise caution when dealing with attachments or links, especially in unsolicited emails from unknown or suspicious sources. Download software and files from reputable (official) websites, and never use pirated versions of programs or cracking tools to bypass activation. Do not interact with ads, pop-ups, and similar content on unofficial websites.
Ensure your operating system, programs, and security tools are always up to date. Additionally, regularly scan your computer for unwanted software and 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.
The appearance of the website promoted via "OpenSea Offer Alert" scam:
Text presented in the "OpenSea Offer Alert" email letter:
Subject: A new offer has benn placed on one of your NFT listings
OpenSea Wallet
OpenSea Offer AlertA new offer has benn placed on one of your NFT listings:
Offer Details:Offer ID: 0x82545661
Offered by: Vik15230Review Offer
Please take a moment to sign in to your account and explore this new opportunity. If youhave any questions or require help, our support team is ready to assist you anytime!
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Quick menu:
- What is OpenSea Offer Alert 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?
Scammers send their messages to a wide range of email addresses without discrimination. Essentially, these emails are neither personalized nor specifically targeted.
I have provided my personal information when tricked by this email, what should I do?
If you have sent your email account login credentials to scammers via the phishing site found in this email, change all passwords that could be compromised as soon as possible.
I have downloaded and opened a malicious file attached to an email, is my computer infected?
If you have downloaded and opened a malicious file, your computer is likely at risk of infection. The extent of the threat depends on the file type. Malicious executables typically infect your system as soon as they are opened, while other types of files may require further interaction to cause harm.
I have read the email but did not open the attachment, is my computer infected?
No, simply opening an email is not harmful. However, clicking on links within the email or opening attached files can lead to system infections.
Will Combo Cleaner remove malware infections that were present in email attachment?
Yes, Combo Cleaner is effective at identifying and removing most malware infections. However, sophisticated malware may embed itself deeply in your system, so running a full system scan may be required for complete removal.
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