How to avoid falling for scams like "Email Server"

What kind of scam is "Email Server"?

We have analyzed this email and found that its purpose is to extract personal information from recipients. This fraudulent letter is disguised as a notification from an email service provider and contains a misleading link. Emails of this type are called phishing emails. Recipients should ignore them.

More about the "Email Server" scam email

This deceptive email is designed to look like an urgent message from an email service provider. It warns that the email server is experiencing issues verifying the recipient's account. The email claims that the recipient will be unable to receive emails or attachments larger than 1200MB until they verify their mailbox.

It urges the recipient to "AUTO-VERIFY MAILBOX NOW" by following the provided link, warning that failure to act within 24 hours will result in account disconnection. Clicking the included link/button leads to a fake login website. On this site, recipients are instructed to provide their email address and password to "submit".

All the information entered is sent to scammers. Once scammers obtain email account login credentials, they can access email accounts, send phishing emails or malicious files to contacts, and look for more personal information within victims' emails. They can also try to access other accounts (e.g., social media, banking, and gaming accounts).

Additionally, scammers might sell the stolen login credentials (and other obtained information) to other cybercriminals. Overall, sharing information on phishing web pages (or directly via phishing emails) can result in financial loss, identity theft, and other issues.

Threat Summary:

Name	Email Server Scam
Threat Type	Phishing, Scam, Social Engineering, Fraud
Fake Claim	Email server is having problem verifying the account
Disguise	Letter from an email service provider
Related Domain	iridescent-lion-lrpxdw.mystrikingly[.]com
Detection Names (iridescent-lion-lrpxdw.mystrikingly[.]com)	Combo Cleaner (Malware), ESET (Phishing), Kaspersky (Phishing), Webroot (Malicious), Full List Of Detections (VirusTotal)
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

Deceptive emails like the one described in our article tend to mimic legitimate service providers, companies, or organizations. They include links or buttons (or files) and urge the recipient to take immediate action, such as verifying their account, updating information, canceling a subscription, etc. These emails aim to trick users into disclosing sensitive information.

Sometimes, link or files in such emails can be utilized to deploy malware. A couple of examples of scams carried out via email are "Someone Used Your Webmail Password", "Dangerous Email Detection", and "Vlaanderen Verbeelding Werkt".

How do spam campaigns infect computers?

Threat actors can include malicious links or files (attachments) in their emails to distribute malware. The files attached to their emails can include MS Office, PDF documents, executables, archives, ISO files, script files, or others. Computers become infected when users execute malware by enabling macros in malicious documents, running infected executables, or taking other actions.

Links in such emails can be designed to open malicious pages (websites that host malicious files or programs and trick users into downloading them) or pages that can automatically download malware.

How to avoid installation of malware?

Download software from legitimate sources, such as official websites or app stores. Do not trust ads, pop-ups, and similar content on questionable websites. Analyze emails before opening files or links included in them, especially when emails are unexpected and sent from unknown addresses. Scan your computer for threats regularly.

Keep the operating system and all installed programs up to date. Use a reputable security solution. 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 "Email Server" email letter:

Subject: ******** Email Server is having problem verifying ********.

******** Email Server    

Hi admin,

******** Email Server is having problem verifying ********.
You wont be able to receive new Mails/Attachment more than 1200MB until you verify this mailbox.
Automatically Verify your mailbox now through below instruction.

AUTO-VERIFY MAILBOX NOW

Your email account will be disconnected after 24hours; if no valid action is taken.

Attentively,
******** Customer Service

Phishing website used in the "Email Server" 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 Email Server phishing scam?
• 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 identical emails to thousands of people, hoping that a few will be tricked into responding (or taking other action). These spam emails are generic and not personalized.

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

If you have shared account credentials, update all your passwords immediately. If you’ve provided other personal information, like credit card or ID details, contact the relevant authorities or organizations as soon as possible.

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

If the file was an executable (.exe or similar), it is highly likely that it triggered a malware infection. However, if it was a document file like a .pdf or .doc, there is a chance you avoided infection, as opening such documents does not always activate malware.

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

Opening an email alone is safe. However, clicking on links or opening attachments within fraudulent emails is what can lead to malware infections.

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

Yes, Combo Cleaner can detect and remove nearly all known malware infections. Since advanced malware often hides deep within the system, it is essential to run a full system scan to ensure removal.

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