Avoid having your account stolen via fake "Urgent Server Warning" emails
Written by Tomas Meskauskas on
What kind of email is "Urgent Server Warning"?
"Urgent Server Warning" is a spam email. It falsely claims that a request has been received to terminate the recipient's email account. With this lure, the scam letter tricks recipients into providing their email log-in credentials to a phishing site with the hopes that it will cancel the fake request.
"Urgent Server Warning" email scam overview
The spam email with the subject "Urgent Server Warning!" (may vary) informs the recipient that a request to terminate their mail account has been received several hours ago. The recipient is asked to confirm or cancel the request; inactivation will be considered as a confirmation.
It must be emphasized that the information in this email is false, and this mail is not associated with any legitimate service providers.
This scam letter promotes a phishing website that targets email account log-in credentials (passwords). Phishing sites record provided information and send it to scammers. Stolen emails can be variously misused; they might even serve as a gateway for hijacking the accounts, services, and platforms registered through it.
To elaborate on how the unauthorized access might be abused, scammers can steal the identities of account owners (e.g., emails, social networking, social media, messengers, chats, etc.) and ask for loans or donations from contacts/friends/followers, endorse scams, and proliferate malware by sharing malicious files or links.
What is more, hijacked finance-related accounts (e.g., e-commerce, money transferring, digital wallets, online banking, etc.) can be used to make fraudulent transactions and online purchases.
In summary, victims of spam emails like "Urgent Server Warning" can experience severe privacy issues, financial losses, and even identity theft.
If you have already disclosed your account log-in credentials – immediately change the passwords of all possibly compromised accounts and inform their official support.
| Name | "Urgent Server Warning" phishing email |
| Threat Type | Phishing, Scam, Social Engineering, Fraud |
| Fake Claim | Recipient's email account will be terminated unless the request is cancelled. |
| Related Domains | qcard.co[.]il |
| Detection Names (qcard.co[.]il) | alphaMountain.ai (Phishing), CRDF (Malicious), Fortinet (Phishing), Heimdal Security (Phishing), URLQuery (Suspicious), Full List Of Detections (VirusTotal) |
| Serving IP Address (qcard.co[.]il) | 194.146.38.129 |
| 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. |
Phishing spam campaign examples
"cPanel - Server Glitch", "Accounting Has Shared Access", "Exceeding Your Free Data Volume", and "Important Notice" are merely a few of our latest articles on phishing campaigns. In addition to targeting various log-in credentials, these emails can seek personally identifiable information and finance-related data.
However, various scams are promoted through spam mail, and it is used to distribute malware. While the widely held belief that these emails are poorly crafted and full of grammatical/spelling errors is not untrue, it is not always the case. This mail can be competently written and even convincingly disguised as messages from legitimate entities (e.g., service providers, companies, institutions, organizations, authorities, etc.).
How do spam campaigns infect computers?
Malware is often proliferated via spam campaigns. These emails/messages can include virulent files as attachments or download links. Infectious files come in various formats, e.g., archives (ZIP, RAR, etc.), executables (.exe, .run, etc.), documents (PDF, Microsoft Office, Microsoft OneNote, etc.), JavaScript, and so on.
The malware download/installation chain is initiated once such a file is opened. However, some formats require additional user interaction to jumpstart 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 on embedded links/files.
How to avoid installation of malware?
We recommend caution with incoming emails, DMs/PMs, SMSes, and other messages. Do not open attachments or links found in suspicious/irrelevant mail, as they can be harmful or infectious.
However, malware is not spread only through spam mail. Therefore, be vigilant when browsing since the Internet is rife with well-disguised fraudulent and malicious content.
Additionally, download only from official and trustworthy channels. Activate and update software using functions/tools provided by legitimate developera, as illegal activation tools ("cracks") and third-party updates may contain malware.
It is paramount for device integrity and user safety to have a reputable anti-virus installed and kept updated. 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 "Urgent Server Warning" spam email letter:
Subject: Urgent Server Warning!
Urgent Server Warning!
We received an instruction few hours ago to terminate your email account (********) from our server.
You need to confirm you made this request or we will continue with the request.
But if you think it is an error, take action immediately to stop this process, else your email will be closed shortly.
Click here to Stop (********) shutdown
If you are sure you gave this instruction for your account termination, please ignore this warning and your request will be processed shortly!
Thank You,
******** Security Team
Screenshot of the phishing website promoted by the "Urgent Server Warning" spam campaign:
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 "Urgent Server Warning" 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, even if they include information relevant to the recipients. These messages are sent out in large-scale campaigns – 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 provided your log-in credentials – change the passwords of all possibly exposed accounts and inform their official support without delay. However, if the disclosed information was of a different personal nature (e.g., ID card details, credit/debit card numbers, etc.) – immediately contact the corresponding authorities.
I have read a spam email but didn't open the attachment, is my computer infected?
No, opening/reading an email poses no infection threat. Systems 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?
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 this if it was a document (.doc, .xls, .pdf, etc.). These formats may need extra actions to begin downloading/installing malware (e.g., enabling macros, clicking embedded content, etc.).
Will Combo Cleaner remove malware infections present in email attachments?
Yes, Combo Cleaner is designed to scan systems and eliminate all kinds of threats. It can detect and remove most of the known malware infections. It must be emphasized that performing a full system scan is essential since high-end malicious programs usually hide deep within systems.
Outstanding!
▼ Show Discussion