Do not trust fake "Email Address Included In The Blacklist" emails

What kind of email is "Email Address Included In The Blacklist"?

Our inspection of "Email Address Included In The Blacklist" revealed that it is spam. This fake letter claims that the recipient's email account must be verified. By baiting users into believing that their email will be permanently closed, this message lures them into a phishing site that targets log-in credentials.

"Email Address Included In The Blacklist" email scam overview

The spam email with the subject "([recipient's_email_address]) Blaclisted, Verify email to avoid permanent closure of mailbox" (may vary) states that the recipient's account has been blacklisted and marked as spam. If no action is taken, the email will be closed. The recipient is urged to verify their account to avoid its deactivation.

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

Once a user presses the "VERIFY YOUR ACCOUNT NOW" button, they are redirected to a phishing website presented as an email sign-in page. Attempts to sign in through this site disclose the entered log-in credentials (passwords) to scammers, thus enabling them to steal the exposed accounts.

Emails tend to contain highly sensitive information that may be used for blackmail or other nefarious purposes. What is more, the accounts, platforms, and services registered through the compromised email might get stolen as well.

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

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

In summary, by trusting an email like "Email Address Included In The Blacklist" – users can experience severe privacy issues, financial losses, and identity theft.

If you have already disclosed your log-in credentials – immediately change the passwords of all possibly exposed accounts and inform their official support.

Threat Summary:

Name	"Email Address Included In The Blacklist" phishing email
Threat Type	Phishing, Scam, Social Engineering, Fraud
Fake Claim	Recipient's email has been blacklisted and the account will be deactivated unless it is verified.
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

We have investigated numerous spam campaigns; "Signed Invoice", "Full Storage Notification", and "Salary Payment Sheet" are just a couple examples of phishing emails. Various scams are promoted through spam mail, and it is used to spread malware.

While the commonly held belief that these emails are poorly written and riddled with spelling/grammatical mistakes is not untrue, it is not always the case. These letters can be competently put together and even believably disguised as messages from legitimate entities (e.g., service providers, organizations, institutions, authorities, etc.).

Due to how prevalent spam mail is and how well-made it can be – we highly recommend exercising caution with incoming emails, DMs/PMs, SMSes, and other messages.

How do spam campaigns infect computers?

Spam campaigns are often used in malware proliferation. These emails/messages can include virulent files as attachments or download links. Infectious files can be archives (ZIP, RAR, etc.), executables (.exe, .run, etc.), documents (PDF, Microsoft Office, Microsoft OneNote, etc.), JavaScript, and so forth.

Malware download/installation is triggered once such a file is opened. Some formats require extra interaction to jumpstart 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?

Incoming emails, PMs/DMs, SMSes, and other messages must be approached with caution. We advise against opening attachments or links present in suspect/irrelevant mail, as they can be malicious.

However, malware is not spread exclusively through spam mail. Therefore, we recommend being careful while browsing since the Internet is rife with deceptive and dangerous content.

Additionally, all downloads must be made from official and verified sources. Another recommendation is to activate and update programs using genuine functions/tools, as illegal activation ("cracking") tools and third-party updates can contain malware.

It is paramount for device integrity and user safety to have a reputable anti-virus installed and kept up-to-date. Security 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 "Email Address Included In The Blacklist" spam email letter:

Subject: (********) Blaclisted, Verify email to avoid permanent closure of mailbox

******** LAST WARNING:

Your email address (********) has been included in the blacklist and has been marked as an automatic spam so it will be verified

Click on the button below to Verify your account.

Note: account will be permanently closed.

VERIFY YOUR ACCOUNT NOW

Thank you,
******** Security
(c) 2024

Screenshot of the phishing website promoted by the "Email Address Included In The Blacklist" spam campaign:

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▼ 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 "Email Address Included In The Blacklist" 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 this mail in large-scale campaigns 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 provided your log-in credentials – change the passwords of all possibly compromised accounts and inform their official support without delay. However, if the disclosed information was of a different personal nature (e.g., ID card details, credit card numbers, etc.) – immediately contact the corresponding authorities.

I have read a spam email but didn't open the attachment, is my computer infected?

Merely reading an email poses no infection threat. 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 (.exe, .run, etc.) cause infections almost without fail. However, some formats – like documents (.doc, .xls, .one, .pdf, etc.) – require additional actions to trigger malware download/installation, such as enabling macros, clicking embedded content, and so on.

Will Combo Cleaner remove malware infections present in email attachments?

Combo Cleaner is capable of detecting and removing most of the known malware infections. Note that sophisticated malicious software tends to hide deep within systems – therefore, performing a complete system scan is essential.

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