How to recognize scams like "Mailbox Has Been Successfully Upgraded"

What is "Mailbox Has Been Successfully Upgraded"?

Our team has reviewed this email and concluded that it is a fraudulent letter posing as a notification from an email service provider. This email is written by scammers who attempt to trick recipients into disclosing personal information. Emails of this type are classified as phishing emails.

More about the "Mailbox Has Been Successfully Upgraded" scam email

The phishing email falsely informs the recipient that their mailbox has been successfully upgraded. It instructs them to log in to view new features through the "click here" link. Clicking the provided link opens a fake Gmail login page where individuals are instructed to enter their email address and password (email account login credentials).

When credentials are entered, they are sent to scammers who can exploit them for malicious activities. With these stolen credentials, scammers can gain access to email and possibly other accounts. They may use the accessed accounts to send phishing emails, distribute malware, gather personal information, make fraudulent purchases or transactions, and more.

Additionally, they could sell the stolen data to third parties. Thus, it is crucial to be cautious when dealing with suspicious emails from unknown sources to protect against identity theft, financial loss, and other risks.

Threat Summary:

Name	Mailbox Has Been Successfully Upgraded Email Scam
Threat Type	Phishing, Scam, Social Engineering, Fraud
Fake Claim	The recipient's mailbox has been updated
Related Domain	w3ipfs.org[.]cn
Detection Names (w3ipfs.org[.]c)	Combo Cleaner (Malware), Fortinet (Phishing), G-Data (Malware), Seclookup (Malicious), Sophos (Phishing), Full List Of Detections (VirusTotal)
Disguise	Notification from the email service provider
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

Phishing emails are typically designed to look like urgent messages from trusted companies, organizations, or individuals. Scammers use them to trick recipients into giving away sensitive information. In some cases, these emails also serve as a way to spread malware. Trusting such email can lead to monetary loss, identity theft, or even malware infiltration.

Examples of phishing emails are "Urgent Server Warning", "Accounting Has Shared Access", and "Restore IMAP/POP3".

How do spam campaigns infect computers?

Cybercriminals behind emails used to deliver malware send infected MS Office documents, PDFs, archives, executables, ISO files, JavaScript files, or other files. Their goal is to trick recipients into executing malware by enabling macros commands in malicious MS Office documents, opening infected executables, or taking other actions.

Also, such emails can contain fraudulent links. Opening them can take users to web pages designed to trick them into downloading and running malware. Also, these links can lead users to sites that automatically download malware on computers.

How to avoid installation of malware?

Be cautious with attachments and links, especially if they come from unsolicited or suspicious emails from unknown senders. Only download software and files from trusted sources (official websites and app stores), and avoid using pirated software, cracking tools, or key generators. Keep your operating system and software, including antivirus tools, up to date at all times.

Avoid trusting ads, pop-ups, or buttons on unofficial websites. 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 "Mailbox Has Been Successfully Upgraded" email letter:

Subject: VERIFY VERIFY VERIFY ********

The mailbox has been successfully upgraded, please log in to your account again to see the new features

click here

system update. 2024 © Mail Report.

Phishing site (fake Google login page) used in this scam:

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 Mailbox Has Been Successfully Upgraded 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 large number of email addresses without targeting specific recipients. These emails are usually lack personalization.

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

If you've provided your email account login details to scammers via the phishing link in this email, immediately change the passwords for all potentially compromised accounts.

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

If you have downloaded and opened a harmful file, your computer might be infected. Executable files typically start infecting your system as soon as you open them. Other types of files might require additional steps to cause harm. Therefore, the risk of malware infection depends on the kind of file that was opened.

I have read the email but did not open the attachment, is my computer infected?

Opening emails is usually safe. Malware can enter systems when recipients open malicious attachments or links within fraudulent emails.

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

Combo Cleaner is good at detecting and removing most known malware infections. More advanced malware might integrate deeply into your system, so running a full system scan might be required to ensure it is completely removed.

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