Do not trust fake "Unusual Activities In Your Account" emails

What kind of email is "Unusual Activities In Your Account"?

Upon examination, we determined that the "Unusual Activities In Your Account" email is spam. The letter reports on unrecognized activity detected on the recipient's email account. Updating its information (password) is critical to avoid the account being disconnected from the server. This mail aims to lure victims into disclosing their email log-in credentials to a phishing site.

"Unusual Activities In Your Account" email scam overview

This spam email is presented as an alert notifying that unusual activity was detected on the email account. The recipient is requested to update their information to prevent their account from being disconnected from the server, thus resulting in its termination.

It must be stressed that the claims made by this letter are false, and this mail is not associated with any genuine service providers.

After the "Update Password" button is clicked, it results in a redirect to a phishing website. It is disguised as an email sign-in page claiming – "Your session has expired, please login with your email password to continue./ If this condition persists, Please contact your network service provider".

Log-in credentials (i.e., passwords) entered into this site are recorded and sent to scammers. Emails are of particular interest to cyber criminals, as they tend to contain incredibly sensitive information and may serve as a gateway for hijacking the accounts, platforms, and services registered through them.

To elaborate on how the unauthorized access may be abused, scammers can steal account owners' identities (e.g., emails, social networking, social media, etc.) and ask the contacts/friends/followers for loans or donations, endorse scams, and proliferate malware by sharing malicious files/links.

Additionally, stolen finance-related accounts (e.g., e-commerce, money transferring, digital wallets, online banking, etc.) can be used to make fraudulent transactions or online purchases.

To summarize, by trusting an email like "Unusual Activities In Your Account" – users can experience severe privacy issues, financial losses, and even identity theft.

If you have already entered your account credentials into a phishing webpage – change the passwords of all potentially compromised accounts and contact their official support without delay.

Threat Summary:

Name	"Unusual Activities In Your Account" phishing email
Threat Type	Phishing, Scam, Social Engineering, Fraud
Fake Claim	Recipient's account may be closed due to unusual activity detected on it.
Related Domains	viljo-jaala-3949.tiiny[.]site
Detection Names	Trustwave (Phishing), Full List Of Detections (VirusTotal)
Serving IP Address	3.167.138.87
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.

Phishing spam campaign examples

We have written about countless spam campaigns; "Someone Used Your Webmail Password", "Mailbox Abuse Notice", and "Smartcolor Password Expiry" are merely a couple of our newest articles on phishing emails.

The most commonly targeted information includes log-in credentials (usernames/passwords), personally identifiable details, and finance-related data. However, other types of scams are promoted through spam mail as well, and it is used to distribute malware.

While the widely held belief that spam emails are poorly put together and riddled with spelling/grammatical errors is not untrue, it is not always the case. These letters can be competently crafted and even believably imitate messages from legitimate entities (e.g., service providers, companies, organizations, authorities, etc.).

How do spam campaigns infect computers?

Spam campaigns spread malware through malicious files that can be attached to or linked inside the emails/messages. These files come in various formats, e.g., archives (RAR, ZIP, etc.), executables (.exe, .run, etc.), documents (PDF, Microsoft Office, Microsoft OneNote, etc.), JavaScript, and so on.

Merely opening an infectious file can be enough to trigger the malware download/installation chain. Some formats require additional user interaction to initiate 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 embedded links or files.

How to avoid installation of malware?

It is important to always approach incoming emails, DMs/PMs, SMSes, and other messages with caution. Attachments or links present in dubious/irrelevant mail must not be opened, as they can be malicious.

It must be mentioned that malware is not proliferated exclusively via spam mail. Therefore, we advise vigilance when browsing since the Internet is full of deceptive and dangerous content.

Furthermore, all downloads must be made from official and verified sources. Another recommendation is to activate and update software using functions/tools provided by legitimate developers, as illegal product activation tools ("cracks") and third-party updates can contain malware.

It is essential for device/user safety to have a reputable anti-virus installed and kept updated. Security programs must be used to perform regular system scans and to remove detected threats/issues. 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 "Unusual Activities In Your Account" spam email letter:

Attn. ********,

Dear Customer, we noticed some unusual activities in your account ********,
Update your information to avoid your email being disconnected from our server.

Update Password

Note: IT Support will not be held responsible if no action is taken and your account been closed.

Best Regard,
********
IT Office Team

Screenshot of the phishing website promoted by the "Unusual Activities In Your Account" spam campaign:

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Quick menu:

• What is "Unusual Activities In Your Account" 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?

Even if spam emails include relevant information, they are not personal. Cyber criminals send out these messages in massive operations – therefore, 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 – immediately change the passwords of all possibly exposed accounts and inform their official support. And if you've disclosed other private data (e.g., ID card details, passport photos/scans, credit/debit card numbers, etc.) – contact the corresponding authorities without delay.

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

Devices are compromised when malicious attachments or links are opened/clicked; merely opening/reading an email poses no infection threat.

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

If the opened file was an executable (.exe, .run, etc.) – most likely, yes – the device was infected. However, you might have avoided this if it was a document (.doc, .pdf, .xls, .one, etc.). These formats may need extra actions to initiate system infection processes (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 devices and eliminate all manner of threats. It is capable of detecting and removing most of the known malware infections. Keep in mind that high-end malicious programs usually hide deep within systems – therefore, running a complete system scan is crucial.

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