How to avoid scams like "Webmail - Fraudulent Activity Alert Notice"

What is "Webmail - Fraudulent Activity Alert Notice"?

We have reviewed the email and determined that its goal is to harvest information from recipients. The email is disguised as a fraudulent activity alert notice from Webmail. The scammers behind this email aim to trick recipients into opening the included website to steal their details. Users should be careful when encountering such emails.

More about the "Webmail - Fraudulent Activity Alert Notice" scam email

This scam email claims to be a security alert regarding a phishing attack on the recipient's email account. It states that a fraudulent website has been created to impersonate the recipient's web services and urges them to confirm their email services via a provided link.

The email includes fake details about domains and requests immediate action to prevent the shutdown of email services. It also includes a link to an "incident report" and an email (takedown@webmailservice.com) for "further support". The email is designed to trick recipients into clicking the link and disclosing personal information.

The provided link leads to a fake Webmail login website requesting to provide an email address and password (email account login credentials). Any information provided on this page is transmitted to scammers.

When scammers obtain email login credentials, they can access personal emails (and sensitive data in them) and contact lists. They may use the account to send fraudulent emails, distribute malware, or deceive contacts into transferring money to them. Additionally, they may attempt to access other accounts, such as banking or social media profiles.

The stolen information could also be sold to third parties. Falling for such scams can cause financial losses, identity theft, and other serious consequences. To prevent such risks, users should remain cautious when handling suspicious emails.

Threat Summary:

Name	Webmail - Fraudulent Activity Alert Notice Email Scam
Threat Type	Phishing, Scam, Social Engineering, Fraud
Fake Claim	A fraudulent website has been created to impersonate the recipient's web services.
Disguise	Security alert regarding a phishing attack
Symptoms	Generic greeting, urgent language, suspicious links, grammatical errors.
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.

Similar scam emails in general

Phishing emails are designed to deceive recipients into sharing sensitive information like passwords, credit card numbers, or identification details. They often appear to come from reputable organizations, companies, or other entities to trick users into clicking on links or downloading attachments.

Additionally, these emails can be used to deliver malicious software aimed at infecting the recipient's system. Examples of phishing emails are "Update Your DHL Express Account", "You Have A New Purchase Order", and "Pay Advice".

How do spam campaigns infect computers?

Malware can be deployed when users open harmful attachments or links in fraudulent emails. These attachments can include files like PDFs, Word documents, compressed archives, script files, and executables. The malware hidden in these files can be executed when users open them or perform additional steps (e.g., enable macros in compromised MS Office documents).

Clicking on malicious links can direct users to fraudulent websites designed to trick them into downloading harmful software. In some instances, simply visiting these sites may cause malware to download automatically without any additional action from the user.

How to avoid installation of malware?

Avoid clicking on links or opening attachments in emails that seem suspicious. Always scrutinize emails, especially those from unknown senders or unexpected sources, before responding or taking any action. Keep your operating system and applications up to date, and ensure your antivirus or anti-malware software is regularly updated.

Only download software from trusted sources, such as official websites or well-known app stores, and steer clear of questionable ads, pop-ups, or links on unreliable sites. If you have already opened malicious attachments, we recommend running a scan with Combo Cleaner Antivirus for Windows to automatically eliminate infiltrated malware.

The appearance of the "Webmail - Fraudulent Activity Alert Notice" scam email (GIF):

Text presented in the "Webmail - Fraudulent Activity Alert Notice" email letter:

Subject: Critical security alert:We have discovered a phishing attack located on Your e-Mail **********

Webmail
fraudulent activity alert notice!!!
    
Knowledge base Server status

Our valued customer

Thanks for taking the time to read this ticket.

This website was brought to our attention today through a notification by the Netcraft Takedown Service in partnership with webmail your E-mail provider. I've included their email below:

--takedown-response+40911393@********>

We have discovered a phishing attack located on Your ********** website that you are the DNS User of this services:

We noticed a domain was created to look alike with your website services. See the informations below  
 
Registered Services:        
**********
**********   
Unknown Services:       
*********.pw*
*********.org*      

Please confirm your active and registered e-mail services following the link below failure to do so we will shutdown the both e-mail services from using our services.

*Confirm your services*

More information about the detected issue is provided at hxxps://incident.netcraft.webmail.com/6c80d781e6cf/.********

To contact us about updates regarding this attack, please respond to this email. Please note: replies to this address will be logged, but aren't always read. If you believe you have received this email in error, or you require further support, please contact: takedown@webmailservice.com

    
My Account         Support        Terms of service    
© 2023cPanel LLC. All rights reserved.

Screenshot of the phishing page used in this scam:

Instant automatic malware removal: Manual threat removal might be a lengthy and complicated process that requires advanced IT skills. Combo Cleaner is a professional automatic malware removal tool that is recommended to get rid of malware. Download it by clicking the button below:
▼ 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 Fake Webmail - Fraudulent Activity Alert Notice?
• 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?

Scammers often send identical emails to thousands of recipients, hoping to deceive at least someone. Their emails are usually generic and not personalized for anyone.

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

If you have shared your email or other account login details, change your passwords immediately. If sensitive information like credit card numbers or IDs has been stolen, contact the appropriate authorities.

I have downloaded and opened a file attached to an email, is my computer infected?

Opening malicious attachments can result in malware deployment, depending on the type of file and how it is interacted with. For example, executing a harmful .exe file can cause an instant infection, while malicious MS Office documents only become dangerous when macros are activated.

I have read the email but did not open the attachment, is my computer infected?

Simply opening an email is not dangerous. Infections occur only when malicious links are clicked or harmful attachments are opened.

Will Combo Cleaner remove malware infections that were present in email attachment?

Yes, Combo Cleaner can detect and remove most known malware. However, since advanced malware can hide deep within the system, a full system scan is recommended to ensure thorough removal.

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