Do not trust fake "Capital One - Unrecognized Transaction Claim" emails
Written by Tomas Meskauskas on
What kind of email is "Capital One - Unrecognized Transaction Claim"?
After inspecting the "Capital One - Unrecognized Transaction Claim" email, we determined that it is fake. This spam letter states that the investigation concerning a suspicious credit card transaction has been completed.
The goal is to lure recipients into disclosing their account log-in credentials to a phishing website. It must be stressed that this scam email is not associated with the actual Capital One Financial Corporation.
"Capital One - Unrecognized Transaction Claim" email scam overview
This spam email is presented as a message from Capital One. The letter informs the recipient that the investigation into an unrecognized credit card transaction claim has been completed. The recipient is urged to click the "Sign In" button to access important information concerning the claim.
As mentioned in the introduction, this email is fake and in no way associated with the real Capital One Financial Corporation.
At the time of research, the phishing site promoted by this spam campaign was down. However, this could be fixed in potential future releases of this campaign (i.e., emails will redirect to operational webpages). The phishing website was likely disguised as the Capital One sign-in page. Log-in credentials entered into such pages are recorded and sent to scammers.
Stolen finance-related accounts (e.g., online banking, money transferring, e-commerce, digital wallets, etc.) can be used to facilitate fraudulent transactions and online purchases.
In summary, by trusting an email like "Capital One - Unrecognized Transaction Claim" – users can experience severe privacy issues, financial losses, and even identity theft.
If you have already provided your account credentials to a phishing site – immediately change the passwords of all possibly exposed accounts and inform their official support. Depending on the sensitivity of the compromised information, it may even be necessary to contact the appropriate authorities.
| Name | "Capital One - Unrecognized Transaction Claim" phishing email |
| Threat Type | Phishing, Scam, Social Engineering, Fraud |
| Fake Claim | Investigation into an unrecognized credit card transaction has been completed. |
| Disguise | Capital One |
| 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
We have written about countless spam campaigns; "Join Zoom Meeting", "Account Validation", "Capital One Bank Account Activity", "AMERICAN EXPRESS card has been temporarily flagged", and "You Have Received A File" are just some of our newest articles on phishing emails.
However, various scams are promoted through spam mail, and it is used to distribute malware. While the widely held belief that these emails are poorly written and riddled with errors is not untrue, it is not always the case. This mail can be competently put together and even convincingly disguised as messages from legitimate corporations, companies, service providers, institutions, authorities, and other entities.
How do spam campaigns infect computers?
Malware is commonly spread via spam campaigns. These emails/messages have malicious files attached to or linked inside them. Infectious files come in various formats, e.g., documents (PDF, Microsoft Office, Microsoft OneNote, etc.), archives (ZIP, RAR, etc.), executables (.exe, .run, etc.), JavaScript, and so on.
The infection chain is initiated once a virulent file is opened. However, some formats require additional user interaction to initiate 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 suspect/irrelevant mail must not be opened, as they can be infectious.
However, malware is proliferated using various methods. Therefore, we recommend being careful while browsing since fraudulent and dangerous online content usually appears ordinary and innocuous.
Additionally, all downloads must be made from official and verified sources. Another recommendation is to activate and update software using functions/tools provided by genuine developers, as illegal activation ("cracking") tools and third-party updates can contain malware.
It is paramount to have a reputable anti-virus installed and kept up-to-date. Security programs must be used to perform regular system scans and to remove detected threats. 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 "Capital One - Unrecognized Transaction Claim" spam email letter:
Subject: ******** , Dispute Claim Processed : Sign dispute claim
Capital One
Date 2024/10/17 p.m. 07:23:10
******** ,
We have completed our investigation for your credit card unrecognized transaction claim, and have sent you important information about your claim.
Sign in to get started.
Sign In
Capital One Online Team
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Quick menu:
- What is "Capital One - Unrecognized Transaction Claim" 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, even if they include details relevant to the recipients. Cyber criminals distribute these messages in large-scale campaigns with the hopes that at least some recipients will fall for the scams.
I have provided my personal information when tricked by this spam email, what should I do?
If you have provided your log-in credentials – change the passwords of all potentially compromised accounts and inform their official support without delay. However, if the disclosed information was of a different personal nature (e.g., passport scans, ID card details, credit/debit card numbers, etc.) – immediately contact relevant authorities.
I have read a spam email but didn't open the attachment, is my computer infected?
No, reading an email will not initiate any malware download/installation processes. Devices are infected 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 – your device was infected. However, you might have avoided this if it was a document (.doc, .xls, .one, .pdf, etc.). These formats may require additional actions (e.g., enabling macros, clicking embedded content, etc.) to jumpstart malware download/installation chains.
Will Combo Cleaner remove malware infections present in email attachments?
Yes, Combo Cleaner can detect and remove most of the known malware infection. Note that performing a full system scan is crucial since sophisticated malicious programs tend to hide deep within systems.
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