How to identify a fake email from Afrihost
Written by Tomas Meskauskas on
What is the fake "Afrihost" email?
We have examined the email and found that it is a scam disguised as a notification from the Afrihost Customer Service Team. It is designed to lure recipients into opening a fake web page and disclosing personal information. Such emails are called phishing emails. They should be ignored and deleted.
More about the "Afrihost" scam email
This phishing email claims that the recipient's domain is approaching expiration and urges them to renew it promptly. It includes a "RENEW NOW" button designed to lead to a fake website. The email falsely states that a renewal attempt failed and asks the recipient to update their billing information to avoid losing the domain.
During our inspection, the site provided in this email was unavailable. However, it is highly likely that it is a phishing page designed to mimic a login site and steal email account credentials, such as email addresses and passwords. When scammers steal email account login credentials, they can read emails, gather sensitive data like financial details, or private communications.
Also, scammers may use the compromised email account to impersonate the victim and send fraudulent emails to friends, family, or colleagues, potentially for financial gain or further scams. They also could send phishing emails from the compromised account to others.
If a victim uses the same login information across multiple accounts, scammers can exploit this by attempting to access other accounts, including social media, banking, or gaming accounts. In some cases, the stolen data might be sold on the dark web to other cybercriminals for exploitation.
If you receive an email urging you to click on a link or provide login information, especially if it seems urgent or suspicious, it is important not to interact with it.
| Name | Afrihost Email Scam |
| Threat Type | Phishing, Scam, Social Engineering, Fraud |
| Fake Claim | Recipient's domain is about to expire |
| Disguise | Notification from Afrihost Customer Service Team |
| 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. |
Similar scam emails in general
Like most phishing emails, the one we overviewed in our article is designed to steal personal information. Typically, scammers target details like login credentials, credit card details, or ID card information. They often pretend to be legitimate companies, organizations, or other entities, and use urgent language to deceive recipients.
Sometimes, such emails can be used to infect devices with malware. It is important to be cautious and verify the sender before opening links (or attachments) or providing sensitive information. Some examples of other scam emails are "Solvay - New Business Relationships", "Capital One - Card Restricted", and "International Lottery & Totalizator Systems".
How do spam campaigns infect computers?
Threat actors can use email to spread malware by attaching infected files such as MS Office documents, PDFs, archives, executable files, or other files. When the recipient opens these attachments, it can trigger an infection on their device. However, the malware may require extra actions to execute, like enabling macros in a malicious MS Office file.
In other cases, emails intended to spread malware might contain links that lead to malicious (or hijacked) websites. These websites can either automatically download malware onto the user’s device or trick the user into manually downloading it themselves.
How to avoid installation of malware?
Be cautious when receiving unsolicited or irrelevant emails from unknown senders, particularly those with links or attachments. Always download from official websites or trusted app stores, as using other sources (e.g., peer-to-peer networks, unofficial websites or app stores, third-party downloaders) can lead to malicious downloads.
Avoid clicking pop-ups, ads, or links found on suspicious sites, and never agree to receive notifications from such pages. Keep your operating system and software up to date, and regularly run security scans using a reliable program. If you have already opened malicious attachments, we recommend running a scan with Combo Cleaner Antivirus for Windows to automatically eliminate infiltrated malware.
Appearance of the scam email (GIF):
Text presented in the "Afrihost" email letter:
Subject: Afrihost Support
Dear - ,
Afrihost
,
Your domain name is approaching its expiration date. We urge you to renew it promptly to ensure no disruption of services.
Domain Name: ********
To renew now, please click the button belowRENEW NOW
2025/2/22 17:22:25
Renewal Failed
We attempted to renew your domain, but the process was unsuccessful. To ensure you don't lose your domain, please update your billing information at your earliest convenience.
If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact our customer support.
Thank you for choosing Afrihost!
Sincerely,
Afrihost Customer Service Team© 2024 Afrihost. All Rights Reserved.
Afrihost International
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 Afrihost phishing campaign?
- 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?
Fraudsters likely sent the same message to many people, as these emails are often not personalized/targeted. Your email address may have been obtained through a data breach, phishing site, or some other source.
I have provided my personal information when tricked by this email, what should I do?
If you have shared your login details with a scammer, change them right away. If sensitive information like your credit card number or ID has been exposed, report it to your bank, credit card provider, or law enforcement.
I have downloaded and opened a malicious file attached to an email, is my computer infected?
Executable files can infect your system immediately, while other formats, like documents, may need extra steps (such as enabling macros) to activate the malware.
I have read the email but did not pen the attachment, is my computer infected?
Opening an email itself is safe, but clicking links or interacting with attachments in scam emails can expose you to malware or other threats.
Will Combo Cleaner remove malware infections that were present in email attachment?
Combo Cleaner can detect and remove most known malware threats, but advanced malware may hide deep within the system, requiring a full system scan for detection and complete removal.
Outstanding!
▼ Show Discussion