Avoid losing your account via fake "Email Password Expiration" emails
Written by Tomas Meskauskas on
What kind of email is "Email Password Expiration"?
After inspecting the "Email Password Expiration" message, we determined that it is spam. It is presented as a password expiration notification. Victims of this phishing mail risk having their email accounts stolen.
"Email Password Expiration" email scam overview
The spam letter with the subject "Important: Action Required for Upcoming Password Expiry Notification" (may vary) informs the recipient that their email account password will expire soon. Hence, a new password will be generated. However, to avoid experiencing sign-in issues, the recipient is instructed to keep their current password.
It must be stressed that the information in this email is false, and this mail is not associated with any legitimate service providers.
When "CONTINUE WITH CURRENT PASSWORD" is pressed, it redirects the user to a phishing website. It masquerades as an email sign-in page.
Log-in credentials entered into this phishing site are recorded and sent to scammers. Stolen emails can be variously abused; they tend to contain sensitive information and cyber criminals may steal the accounts, platforms, and services registered through them.
To expand upon how the unauthorized access might be misused, scammers can steal the identities of account owners (e.g., emails, social media, social networking, etc.) and request loans or donations from contacts/friends/followers, promote scams, and proliferate malware.
What is more, hijacked finance-related accounts (e.g., e-commerce, digital wallets, online banking, etc.) can be used to make fraudulent transactions and online purchases.
To summarize, victims of scam mail like "Email Password Expiration" can experience severe privacy issues, financial losses, and identity theft.
If you have already entered your log-in credentials into a phishing webpage – change the passwords of all possibly exposed accounts and inform their official support without delay.
| Name | "Email Password Expiration" phishing email |
| Threat Type | Phishing, Scam, Social Engineering, Fraud |
| Fake Claim | Recipient's email account password will expire soon. |
| Related Domains | ur890eidfu890foir43909er87yfduik.pages[.]dev |
| Detection Names | Combo Cleaner (Phishing), CRDF (Malicious), G-Data (Phishing), Kaspersky (Phishing), Trustwave (Phishing), Webroot (Malicious), Full List Of Detections (VirusTotal) |
| Serving IP Address | 172.66.47.41 |
| 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. |
Phishing spam campaign examples
"404 Mail Delivery Failed", "Fifth Third Bank", "Bank Of Scotland", "Trust Wallet - New Security Alert", and "Beneficiary Of Will" are just some of our latest articles on phishing campaigns.
Aside from log-in credentials, this mail predominantly targets personally identifiable information and finance-related data. However, other scams are endorsed through spam mail, and it is used in malware proliferation.
While the commonly held belief that spam emails are poorly written and riddled with grammatical/spelling errors is not untrue, it is not always the case. These letters can be well-crafted and even competently disguised as messages from legitimate entities (e.g., companies, service providers, organizations, authorities, etc.).
How do spam campaigns infect computers?
Malware is often distributed via spam campaigns. Deceptive emails/messages can include infectious files as attachments or download links. These files can be archives (RAR, ZIP, etc.), executables (.exe, .run, etc.), documents (Microsoft Office, Microsoft OneNote, PDF, etc.), JavaScript, and so on.
Once a virulent file is opened – the infection chain is triggered. Some formats require additional interaction to jumpstart malware download/installation. For example, Microsoft Office files need users to enable macro commands, while OneNote documents require them to click embedded links or files.
How to avoid installation of malware?
We highly recommend vigilance with incoming emails, DMs/PMs, SMSes, and other messages. Attachments or links present in suspicious mail must not be opened, as they can be infectious.
However, malware is not spread exclusively via spam mail. We advise exercising caution when browsing since fake and dangerous online content usually appears legitimate and innocuous.
Another recommendation is to download only from official and verified sources. Software must be activated and updated using functions/tools provided by genuine developers, as illegal activation ("cracking") tools and third-party updates can contain malware.
We must emphasize the importance of having a reputable anti-virus installed and kept up-to-date. Security programs must be used to run regular system scans and to remove detected threats and 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 "Email Password Expiration" spam email letter:
Subject: Important: Action Required for Upcoming Password Expiry Notification
EMAIL PASSWORD EXPIRATION
Server (DNS) Default Settings
Server IMAP Address (POP3): ********
Incoming Server: ********
This is to inform you that your email password is about to expire. A new password will be automatically generated for your email address, However it is very important that you continue to use your current email password to AVOID login access difficulties into your email.
To Continue using your current password, Follow the instructions below;
CONTINUE WITH CURRENT PASSWORD
NOTE: The Server Portal will not function at optimum performance if these instructions are not duly followed.
This notice is a DNS settings password authentication signal to ********
The system server generated this advisory on Monday, 30/09/2024 12:45:11 A.M. (GMT).
Do not reply to this automated message.
Screenshot of the phishing website promoted by the "Email Password Expiration" spam campaign:
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Quick menu:
- What is "Email Password Expiration" 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?
Spam emails are not personal, regardless of any relevant information they may include. This spam mail is sent out in large-scale campaigns – hence, thousands of users receive identical (or incredibly similar) messages.
I have provided my personal information when tricked by this spam email, what should I do?
If you have provided log-in credentials – immediately change the passwords of all possibly exposed accounts and inform their official support. However, if you've disclosed other private information (e.g., passport scans/photos, ID card details, credit/debit card numbers, etc.) – contact relevant authorities without delay.
I have read a spam email but didn't open the attachment, is my computer infected?
Reading an email poses no infection threat; systems are compromised when malicious attachments or links are opened/clicked.
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, .xls, .pdf, .one, etc.). These formats may require additional actions (e.g., enabling macros, clicking embedded content, etc.) to initiate malware download/installation.
Will Combo Cleaner remove malware infections present in email attachments?
Combo Cleaner is designed to scan devices and eliminate all manner of threats. It can detect and remove most of the known malware infections. Remember that sophisticated malicious programs usually hide deep within systems – therefore, running a full system scan is paramount for detection.
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