How to recognize scams like "Confirm That This Is Your Valid Email Address"
Written by Tomas Meskauskas on
What is "Confirm That This Is Your Valid Email Address"?
We have examined the email and found that it is a phishing attempt posing as a notification regarding a user verification process. Scammers use this email to extract personal information from unsuspecting recipients through a fake web page. Recipients should ignore this email to avoid potential risks.
More about the "Confirm That This Is Your Valid Email Address" scam email
The email claims the recipient needs to confirm their email address to retain access to a domain. It provides a "Verify email address" link and urges the recipient to take immediate action by warning that the link will expire in 3 days. It also mentions other consequences, such as deactivation of the domain and email, if the recipient does not act swiftly.
Clicking the "Verify email address" link/button leads to a fake Gmail sign-in website where users are requested to enter their email address and password (email account login credentials) to continue. The entered information is transmitted to scammers, who can misuse it for malicious purposes.
With access to an email account, scammers can impersonate the victim and spread malware or trick others into sharing sensitive information. They can also search through an email account for sensitive data (e.g., ID card information or passwords). Moreover, scammers often use the compromised email to access linked accounts (or accounts with the same login credentials), such as social media or financial services.
Finally, they can sell the stolen credentials on dark web marketplaces. Overall, falling victim to phishing emails can lead to consequences like monetary loss and identity theft. Thus, it is advisable to carefully examine emails before opening their contents and disclosing any personal information.
| Name | Confirm That This Is Your Valid Email Address Scam |
| Threat Type | Phishing, Scam, Social Engineering, Fraud |
| Fake Claim | The recipient must verify their email address |
| Related Domain | oortech[.]com |
| Detection Names (oortech[.]com) | alphaMountain.ai (Suspicious), CyRadar (Malicious), Quttera (Malicious), Seclookup (Malicious), Full List Of Detections (VirusTotal) |
| Disguise | Letter from a domain host |
| 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
Typically, such emails are disguised as important letters from companies, organizations, or other entities to trick recipients into taking specific actions (usually, sharing personal details on dubious pages). Scammers use such emails to steal login credentials, social security numbers, ID card information, credit card details, or other information.
Also, cybercriminals use fraudulent emails to spread malware. Some examples of phishing emails are "Someone Used Your Webmail Password", "Dangerous Email Detection", and "Email Resource Alert Triggered".
How do spam campaigns infect computers?
Cybercriminals distribute malware by including malicious files or links in their emails. These attachments can include MS Office documents, PDFs, executable files, ZIP archives, ISO images, scripts, etc. When users open these files, they might unintentionally launch malware by enabling macros or performing other actions.
Links in these emails can be designed to direct users to harmful websites. These sites might either host malicious files or programs and deceive users into downloading them or automatically start malware downloads.
How to avoid installation of malware?
Always use official websites or app stores when downloading files or programs. Do not use other sources (e.g., unofficial sites, P2P networks, third-party downloaders), and never download pirated software and cracking tools. Examine emails before opening links or attachments, especially if they are unexpected and from unknown addresses.
Avoid interacting with advertisements, buttons, and links encountered on questionable websites. Keep all software and the operating system up to date, and use a reputable security tool. 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 "Confirm That This Is Your Valid Email Address" email letter:
Subject: Alert: User Verification Process
Dear -,Confirm that this is your valid email address.
To maintain access to this domain, kindly confirm that this email address is yours.
Verify email address
This link will expire in 3 days. Be sure to act swiftly to avoid your domain and email being deactivated.
For help, contact our Help center.
Fake Gmail sign-in page used in this scam:
Instant automatic malware removal:
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Quick menu:
- What is Confirm That This Is Your Valid Email Address 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 spam emails to thousands of people in the hope that at least a few recipients will fall for the scam. These messages are generic and not tailored to any individual. It is likely that scammers obtained your email address from some data breach.
I have provided my personal information when tricked by this email, what should I do?
If you have shared any account credentials, it is crucial to change all your passwords immediately to secure your accounts. In case you cannot access your account (or accounts), contact support to report the issue.
I have downloaded and opened a malicious file attached to an email, is my computer infected?
It depends on the type of the malicious file you opened. For instance, malicious executables can infect computers upon opening, but malicious MS Office documents may not inject malware unless macros commands are enabled.
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 any attached files can lead to system 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. However, because sophisticated malware often hides deeply within the system, it is necessary to conduct a full system scan to ensure removal.
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