How to identify phishing emails like "Capital One - Email Address Change"

What kind of scam is "Capital One - Email Address Change"?

We have examined the email and determined that it is a phishing attempt. It pretends to be a notification about a change of email address and is designed to deceive recipients into opening a fake web page and submitting personal information. To avoid potential issues, recipients should disregard the email.

More about the "Capital One - Email Address Change" scam email

This phishing email claims to be from Capital One. It informs the recipient that their email address has been successfully updated to a new one. The email also provides a link to recover the account in case the change was unauthorized or incorrect. It emphasizes the need for security and instructs the recipient to verify account ownership via multiple one-time passwords sent via email or SMS.

The goal is to trick the recipient into clicking the "Recover Your Account Now" link. Clicking this link leads to a fake Capital One sign-in website. On this site, scammers aim to lure users into entering their username and password. If entered, login credentials are sent to scammers.

Scammers may use this information to gain unauthorized access to the victim's Capital One account, potentially stealing funds, making fraudulent transactions, or using the account for other malicious purposes. Also, they might try to access other accounts (e.g., email or social media) and use them to access more information, send fraudulent messages, deliver malware, etc.

Additionally, fraudsters may sell the obtained information on the dark web. Overall, emails of this kind should not be trusted. Falling for them could lead to monetary loss, identity theft, and other issues.

Threat Summary:

Name	Capital One - Email Address Change Scam
Threat Type	Phishing, Scam, Social Engineering, Fraud
Fake Claim	Recipient's account information has been updated
Disguise	Notification from Capital One
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

These emails are crafted to look like they come from trusted sources, such as banks or well-known companies, and deceive recipients into revealing sensitive information (e.g., credit card numbers, ID card details, or login credentials). They typically encourage users to click on links or open attachments.

Examples of similar phishing emails are "Chase - Suspicious Activity", "New Web Browser Just Signed In", and "Document Shared Securely". Users should be cautious, as the links and attachments in these emails can be used to spread malware.

How do spam campaigns infect computers?

Computers can become infected through emails when users open malicious attachments or links. Once opened, these attachments can deploy malware. Such emails can contain malicious PDFs, MS Office documents, script files, archives, ISO files, executables, or other files.

Malware can infiltrate upon opening these files or taking additional steps (e.g., enabling macros in malicious MS Office docs). The links in these emails can also lead to dangerous websites, where malware could be automatically downloaded onto the user's device. In other cases, users might be tricked into manually running infected files or installing harmful programs.

How to avoid installation of malware?

Use reliable antivirus or anti-malware tools for security. Download software and files from trusted sources like official websites or app stores. Be cautious when browsing questionable websites: steer clear of interacting with pop-ups, ads, or similar content on these sites. Do not permit shady sites to send you notifications.

If you receive emails from unknown addresses that seem irrelevant or unexpected, refrain from clicking any links or opening attachments (if any are included). Keep your system and software up to date to protect against potential threats. If you have 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 - Email Address Change" email letter:

Subject: Your Email Address Has Been Successfully Updated to r******************e@outlook.com.

Capital One

Your Information Has Been Updated.

Learn more about Eno, your Capital One assistant

Dear Card  Member,

As requested, we've changed your email address from ******** to r******************e@outlook.com.

Your security is important to us. If this change was unauthorized or incorrect, please use the link below to recover your account immediately. (You wil need to verify your Account ownership via 2x to 3x email or sms OTP Verifcation to recover your account.)

Recover Your Account Now

Thank you for your Card Membership

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Quick menu:

• What is Capital One - Email Address Change 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?

Scammers send the same email to many people, hoping a few will fall for it. These emails are usually vague and not personalized, aiming to deceive as many recipients as they can.

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

If you have shared your credit card, ID, or personal details, contact your bank or relevant authorities immediately. If your login details have been compromised, change your passwords to protect your accounts.

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

The risk of malware infection from an email attachment depends on the file type and user actions. Opening a malicious .exe file can cause immediate infection, while MS Office documents are risky only if the user enables macros.

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

Reading an email is usually safe, but clicking harmful links or opening infected attachments can result in a computer infection.

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

Combo Cleaner can detect and remove most known malware, but a full system scan is crucial to thoroughly eliminate advanced threats that might be hidden deep within the system.

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