Do not trust fake "Domain Service Sent A De-activation Notice" emails

What kind of email is "Domain Service Sent A De-activation Notice"?

"Domain Service Sent A De-activation Notice" is a spam email claiming that the recipient's mail account will be deactivated unless the appropriate actions are taken. The purpose of this scam message is to promote a phishing website targeting email log-in credentials.

"Domain Service Sent A De-activation Notice" email scam overview

The spam email with the subject "Mailbox De-activation notice [recipient's_email_address]" (may vary) states that an account deactivation request has been received. It will be carried out within 48 hours. If the recipient wishes to cancel this request, they are to take the appropriate actions by pressing a button in the email.

It must be stressed that the claims made by this email are false, and this mail is not associated with any legitimate service providers or other entities.

This mail is intended to endorse a phishing site, but it was down at the time of research. This could be rectified in potential future releases of the spam campaign (i.e., emails will redirect to functional webpages). Phishing sites record provided information and send it to scammers.

Based on the lure used by "Domain Service Sent A De-activation Notice", it is most probable that the promoted website was disguised as an email sign-in page. Emails are commonly targeted by such scams, as they tend to include incredibly sensitive information and may open an avenue for stealing the accounts, platforms, and services registered through them.

To expand upon how the unauthorized access may be abused, scammers can steal the identities of account owners (e.g., emails, social networking, social media, messengers, chats, etc.) and request loans or donations from contacts/friends/followers, promote scams, and spread malware by sharing malicious files/links.

Hijacked finance-related accounts (e.g., e-commerce, money transferring, digital wallets, online banking, etc.) can be used to make fraudulent transactions or online purchases.

To summarize, victims of scam mail like "Domain Service Sent A De-activation Notice" can experience severe privacy issues, financial losses, and even identity theft.

If you have already entered your log-in credentials into a phishing website/file – immediately change the passwords of all potentially compromised accounts and contact their official support.

Threat Summary:

Name	"Domain Service Sent A De-activation Notice" phishing email
Threat Type	Phishing, Scam, Social Engineering, Fraud
Fake Claim	Request to deactivate the email account has been received.
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.

Phishing spam campaign examples

"Capital One - Your Reward Credit Is On The Way", "Ledger Recovery Phrase Verification", "DHL Order Details", "Account Lockdown Notification", and "Payment Notification" are just some of our newest articles on phishing emails.

Spam mail is not used exclusively to collect vulnerable information; it is also utilized to promote other scams and to distribute malware.

While the widely held belief that spam emails are poorly written and riddled with grammatical/spelling errors is not untrue, it is not always the case. This mail can be competently crafted and even believably disguised as messages from genuine service providers, companies, organizations, authorities, and other entities.

How do spam campaigns infect computers?

Malware is commonly proliferated via spam campaigns. Deceptive emails/messages can include infectious files as attachments or download links. Malicious files come in various formats, e.g., documents (PDF, Microsoft Office, Microsoft OneNote, etc.), executables (.exe, .run, etc.), archives (RAR, ZIP, etc.), JavaScript, and so on.

Merely opening such a file can be enough to trigger malware download/installation. However, some formats require additional user interaction to initiate system infection processes. For example, Microsoft Office files need users to enable macro commands (i.e., editing/content), while OneNote documents require them to click on embedded links or files.

How to avoid installation of malware?

It is essential to be vigilant with incoming emails, DMs/PMs, SMSes, and other messages. We advise against opening attachments or links found in dubious/irrelevant mail, as they can be harmful or virulent.

It must be mentioned that malware is not spread only through spam mail. Therefore, we recommend being careful while browsing says the Internet is full of deceptive and dangerous content.

Additionally, all downloads must be made from official and verified channels. Another recommendation is to activate and update programs using functions/tools provided by legitimate developers, as illegal 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 up-to-date. This software 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 "Domain Service Sent A De-activation Notice" spam email letter:

Subject: Mailbox De-activation notice ********

Hi ********.,

Your Domain service ********.
has recently sent a de-activation notice to IT-SUPPORT, which will take effect in 48 hours.

To prevent de-activation, please take action if you are still using your email. Otherwise, we will proceed with the de-activation.

Keep my Email De-activate my Email

Ⓒ******** . All Rights Reserved.

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Quick menu:

• What is "Domain Service Sent A De-activation Notice" 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 information that spam emails may include, they are not personal. Cyber criminals distribute this mail by the thousand with the hopes that at least some recipients will fall for their scams.

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

If you have disclosed your log-in credentials – change the passwords of all possibly exposed accounts and inform their official support. And if you've provided other private data (e.g., ID card details, passport photos/scans, credit/debit card numbers, etc.) – contact the appropriate authorities without delay.

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?

File formats can impact infection success rates. Once opened, executables cause infections almost without fail. However, some other formats – like documents – may require extra actions. Hence, the infection may only be triggered after macros are enabled, embedded content is clicked, or other actions are performed.

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 high-end malicious programs tend to hide deep within systems – therefore, performing a complete system scan is paramount.

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