How to recognize phishing scams like "Your Mailbox Will Automatically Synchronize"

What is "Your Mailbox Will Automatically Synchronize"?

Our team has inspected this email and found that it is written by scammers who attempt to trick recipients into revealing their personal information. Emails of this type fall into the category of phishing emails. Recipients should be aware of phishing attempts and ignore them.

More about the "Your Mailbox Will Automatically Synchronize" scam email

This scam email appears to be a notification regarding a supposed synchronization process for the recipient's mailbox. It claims that the recipient's mailbox will automatically synchronize within 12 hours, threatening that all unbacked-up data will be lost. The email instructs the recipient to log into a portal via the "Back up" button/link to verify and back up their data.

Clicking this button/link opens a fake login web page requesting to provide an email account password. The information entered on this site is then sent to scammers, who can misuse it for malicious purposes. Once scammers have obtained email account login credentials, they can access the account and look for sensitive information within emails.

Scammers can also send phishing emails or even emails containing malware to the victim's contacts. Additionally, they may reset the passwords for accounts linked to the email account and try to access other accounts using the same login credentials they have stolen from the victim. Thus, it is highly advisable not to reply to shady emails or enter personal details on suspicious pages.

Falling victim to scam emails can have various consequences, including monetary loss and identity theft.

Threat Summary:

Name	Your Mailbox Will Automatically Synchronize Email Scam
Threat Type	Phishing, Scam, Social Engineering, Fraud
Fake Claim	Recipient's mailbox will automatically synchronize within 12 hours
Related Domain	qcard.co[.]il
Detection Names	alphaMountain.ai (Phishing), Combo Cleaner (Malware), CRDF (Malicious), CyRadar (Malicious), Fortinet (Phishing), Full List Of Detections (VirusTotal)
Disguise	Notification from an 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 deceptive messages from scammers who aim to extract login credentials, credit card details, ID card information, or other personal details. They are usually disguised as important/urgent letters from organizations, service providers, or other entities. It is also common for such emails to contain links leading to fake web pages.

Sometimes, fraudsters can sent malicious files or links via email to trick recipients into infecting computers. A couple of examples of similar fraudulent emails are "EFT Payment Overview", "Error Updating The Mail Server", and "Your Invoice Has Been Paid".

How do spam campaigns infect computers?

Malware can be distributed through emails by attaching malicious files. When users open these attachments, they can unknowingly execute malware on their computers. This can happen by enabling macros in infected Microsoft Office documents, opening malicious executables, or taking other actions.

Other files commonly used to deliver malware include PDFs, compressed archives, ISO images, and JavaScript files. Additionally, fraudulent emails can contain links that direct users to harmful websites. These sites can be crafted to deceive individuals into downloading malware or may initiate automatic downloads without additional user input.

How to avoid installation of malware?

Always scrutinize emails before clicking links or opening attachments, especially if they are unsolicited or come from unknown senders. When downloading files or software, use official websites or reputable app stores, avoiding unofficial sources (e.g., third-party app stores, unofficial pages, peer-to-peer networks).

Avoid clicking ads, buttons, or links on suspicious websites. Make sure your software and operating system are always up to date, and use a reliable security program to protect your devices. 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 "Your Mailbox Will Automatically Synchronize" email letter:

Subject: ********* is Ready for Synchronization

Dear *********,

Your Mailbox ********* will automatically synchronize in 12 Hours from 9/23/2024 6:09:42 a.m.. and all data not backed up will be lost.

What should you do?

Log in to your mail on the ********* portal     HERE      to verify and back-up
your data to avoid data loss during synchronization.

NOTE: Most Files will be lost during synchronization if this action is not performed.

Back up
 
Thanks & Regards
© ********* Mailbox Team 2024.

Phishing website utilized 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 Your Mailbox Will Automatically Synchronize 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?

You likely received a scam email because scammers send numerous emails to all recipients, hoping that some recipients will fall for them. These emails are often sent to random addresses or addresses obtained from data breaches.

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

If you have shared any account credentials, make sure to change all your passwords immediately. If you have disclosed other personal information, like credit card details or identification numbers, contact the relevant authorities as soon as possible.

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

If the file you opened is executable, your computer is likely infected. However, if it was a document file (such as a .pdf or .doc), you might be safe, as simply opening those types of files does not always lead to malware entering your system.

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

Opening an email itself is not harmful. However, opening links within fraudulent emails or opening attached files can result in system infections.

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

Combo Cleaner is effective at detecting and removing nearly all known threats. However, since sophisticated malware can hide deeply within the system, it is crucial to perform a complete system scan to ensure removal.

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