Do not trust fake "Cloudflare - Important Account Update" emails
Written by Tomas Meskauskas on (updated)
What kind of email is "Cloudflare - Important Account Update"?
Upon examination, we determined that the "Cloudflare - Important Account Update" email is spam. It warns the recipient of the impending suspension of their Cloudflare account. The goal is to deceive victims into disclosing their account log-in credentials to a phishing website.
It must be stressed that the claims made by this email are false, and this mail is not associated with the actual Cloudflare.
"Cloudflare - Important Account Update" email scam overview
The spam email with the subject "Urgent: Your Account Needs an Update.." (may vary) states that the recipient's Cloudflare account will be suspended soon due to incomplete data. The recipient is urged to update their account to avoid experiencing service interruptions.
It must be reiterated that the information in this email is false, and this mail is not associated with the Cloudflare content delivery network service company or any other legitimate service providers and entities.
After a user clicks the "Update Your Account" button, it results in a redirect to a phishing website marked with Cloudflare's logo. By attempting to sign in through such a page, the victim exposes the log-in credentials to scammers.
Stolen accounts can be misused for a variety of nefarious purposes, including blackmail over any confidential or compromising information. Additionally, the loss of a single account may entail the theft of other services/platforms that share the same log-in data or are otherwise linked.
Cyber criminals can steal account owners' identities (e.g., emails, social networking, social media, messengers, etc.) and use them to request loans or donations from contacts/friends/followers, promote scams, and spread malware by sharing malicious files or links.
Hijacked finance-related accounts (e.g., e-commerce, money transferring, digital assets, online banking, etc.) can be used to make fraudulent transactions or online purchases.
To summarize, victims of scam mail like "Cloudflare - Important Account Update" can experience system infections, severe privacy issues, financial losses, and identity theft.
If you have already provided your log-in credentials to a phishing site – change the passwords of all possibly compromised accounts and contact their official support without delay.
| Name | "Cloudflare - Important Account Update" phishing email |
| Threat Type | Phishing, Scam, Social Engineering, Fraud |
| Fake Claim | Recipient must update their account to avoid service interruptions and suspension. |
| Disguise | Cloudflare |
| Related Domains | dash-cloudflare-account.servz.com[.]pk |
| Detection Names | Fortinet (Spam), Trustwave (Suspicious), Full List Of Detections (VirusTotal) |
| Serving IP Address | 196.95.18.114 |
| 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 emails; "Webmail - Email Version Upgrade", "Your Email Certificate Has Expired", and "World Bank Group - Overdue Payment" are merely a few of our latest articles on phishing campaigns.
Various scams are promoted through spam mail, including tech support, advance fee, refund, sextortion, inheritance, lottery, and so on. Furthermore, spam mail is used to proliferate trojans, ransomware, and other malware.
Due to how widespread deceptive mail is and how well-made it can be – we highly recommend treating incoming emails, DMs/PMs, SMSes, and other messages with caution.
How do spam campaigns infect computers?
Malware is often proliferated via spam campaigns. These emails/messages have virulent files attached to or linked inside them. Infectious files come in various formats, e.g., archives (ZIP, RAR, etc.), executables (.exe, .run, etc.), documents (PDF, Microsoft Office, Microsoft OneNote, etc.), JavaScript, and so forth.
Once a malicious file is opened – malware download/installation is jumpstarted. Some formats need extra interaction to initiate system infection chains. For example, Microsoft Office files require users to enable macro commands (i.e., editing/content), while OneNote documents need them to click embedded links or files.
How to avoid installation of malware?
It is essential to exercise caution with incoming emails and other messages. Therefore, do not open attachments or links present in dubious/irrelevant mail since they can be harmful or infectious.
It must be mentioned that malware is spread using various methods. Hence, be vigilant when browsing since the Internet is rife with well-disguised fraudulent and malicious content.
Furthermore, download only from official and verified sources. Activate and update software using functions/tools provided by genuine developers, as illegal product activation ("cracking") tools and third-party updaters can contain malware.
It is paramount 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 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 "Cloudflare - Important Account Update" spam email letter:
Subject: Urgent: Your Account Needs an Update..
Important Account Update
Dear User,
We want to inform you that your Cloudflare account is about to be suspended due to incomplete information.
To avoid any interruptions in your service, please update your account details as soon as possible.
Update Your Account
If you have any questions or need assistance, please do not hesitate to contact our support team.
Thank you for your prompt attention to this matter.
Best Regards,
Cloudflare Support Team
Screenshot of the phishing website promoted by the "Cloudflare - Important Account Update" spam campaign:
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Quick menu:
- What is "Cloudflare - Important Account Update" 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?
Regardless of any relevant details included in spam emails, they are not personal. This mail is sent out in massive operations – therefore, 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 your log-in credentials – change the passwords of all potentially compromised accounts and inform their official support without delay. And if you have disclosed other private information (e.g., ID card details, passport scans/photos, credit/debit card numbers, etc.) – immediately contact the appropriate authorities.
I have read a spam email but didn't open the attachment, is my computer infected?
Merely opening/reading an email is harmless; 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 – the system 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 kinds of threats. It is capable of detecting and removing most of the known malware infections. Note that performing a full system scan is essential since high-end malicious programs typically hide deep within systems.
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