How to spot scams like "One Time Verification"

What kind of scam is "One Time Verification"?

We have reviewed the email and found that it is a phishing attempt. Scammers use this fraudulent email to steal personal details. They disguised it as a notification regarding an email account verification to lure users into disclosing their login credentials on a fake website. This email should be ignored.

More about the "One Time Verification" scam email

This phishing email impersonates Webmail support and claims that a recipient needs to verify their email address to avoid login issues (interruption). It states that the verification is required due to an issue with the user's email address and urges the recipient to confirm their email address.

The email also includes the name of the organization and the "affected" email. The goal of this email is to trick the recipient into clicking the "CONFIRM NOW" button or link, which leads to a fake login page that mimics the recipient's email service provider. For example, if the recipient uses Gmail, the fake page will look like Gmail's login page.

Ultimately, the page is designed to steal the recipient's email account login credentials. When scammers steal email account login credentials, they may gain access to accounts and look for various information in emails. They could also use this access to send phishing emails or malicious files (or links) to the victim's contacts (or other addresses).

Furthermore, scammers could try to access other accounts, including social media, banking, and gaming, using the stolen credentials, which could lead to even more damage. Additionally, they could sell the obtained information to third parties (other cybercriminals) on the dark web. Thus, it is important to know how to identify scam emails to avoid these risks.

Threat Summary:

Name	One Time Verification Email Scam
Threat Type	Phishing, Scam, Social Engineering, Fraud
Fake Claim	Account verification required to avoid interruptions
Related Domain	4everland[.]app
Detection Names (4everland[.]app)	alphaMountain.ai (Phishing), CyRadar (Malicious), Fortinet (Phishing), Lionic (Malicious), SOCRadar (Malicious), Full List Of Detections (VirusTotal)
Disguise	Notification from the email service provider
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 trick users into revealing sensitive information, usually login credentials, credit card details, ID card information, or similar details. It is important to be cautious and verify the legitimacy of any unexpected messages, and never open suspicious links or share personal details if emails are suspicious.

In addition to using email to steal information from individuals, threat actors can use it to distribute malware. Some examples of scam emails targeting personal information are "Netflix Account Suspended", "Capital One - Account Restricted", and "Roundcube Account Will Be Suspended".

How do spam campaigns infect computers?

Threat actors often exploit email as a tactic to infect computers. They send messages containing attachments such as malicious executables, MS Office documents, PDFs, archives, and script files that actually have malware hidden in them. When users open these files (or take additional actions), the malware can infiltrate systems.

Additionally, these emails might include fraudulent links. Clicking these links can lead recipients to malicious or compromised websites, where malware might download automatically or trick users into running it manually on their computers.

How to avoid installation of malware?

Be careful when dealing with emails that contain attachments or links, especially when they are sent from unfamiliar sources and are irrelevant or unexpected. Use official web pages or app stores for software downloads. Avoid using other sources and downloading pirated software, cracking tools, key generators, etc.

Furthermore, do not trust/click pop-ups, ads, buttons, or links found on dubious websites, and refrain from granting these sites permission to send notifications. Regularly update the operating system and installed apps, and scan your computer using a reputable security tool.

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 "One Time Verification" email letter:

Subject: Urgent Notice: ******** Account Verification

ONE TIME VERIFICATION

Hello,

Please verify email address for ******** to prevent login interruption.

Reason: ******** addresss verification.

CONFIRM NOW

Organization: ********
Affected Email: ********

2025 Webmail Support. All Rights Reserved

Fake website 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 One Time Verification 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 a scam email?

Scammers typically send these emails indiscriminately, targeting a wide range of people. They collect email addresses from data breaches, scam websites, or other sources, and then send the same message to multiple recipients.

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

If you have shared your login credentials (email address and password), update the password for the affected account and any other accounts using the same details.

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

It depends on the type of file that carries the malware. Executable files can cause instant damage once opened, while files like documents or archives typically do not activate malware unless further actions are taken after opening them.

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

Opening emails is safe as long as recipients avoid clicking on suspicious links or opening harmful attachments.

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

Combo Cleaner can detect and remove most known malware, but more sophisticated threats might be hidden deep within the system. To ensure complete removal, it is recommended to run a full system scan.

▼ Show Discussion