'EMAIL ACCOUNT SHUTDOWN REQUEST' Email Scam Seeks to Harvest Your Credentials

Upon inspection of the email titled "EMAIL ACCOUNT SHUTDOWN REQUEST," it was determined that it is a form of spam intended to function as a phishing scam. The fraudulent email claims that the recipient's email account will be deactivated as a result of a request made by them, and that the process can be halted if the appropriate action is taken. The goal of this spam email is to deceive the recipient into revealing their account login credentials.

The spam email contains a subject line that varies, such as "Demand Notice Confirmation Ref:#05123759SB," and indicates that a request to deactivate the recipient's email account has been received. The shutdown is set to occur on the day of the notification's receipt.

If the recipient did not submit the request or was unaware of it, the fraudulent email urges them to cancel it immediately by clicking on the "Cancel Email De-activation↵" button. However, at the time of investigation, the link redirected to a non-functional website, although it was likely intended to lead to a phishing website. It is important to note that this email may redirect to an operational website in future versions of the scam.

Typically, this type of spam promotes bogus web pages that appear to be legitimate email account login pages. Information entered into such a phishing page, such as an email account password, is captured and transmitted to the scammers. In addition to gaining access to the compromised email accounts, cyber criminals may also be able to steal the content stored within them.

To expand on this, social accounts such as emails, social media platforms, messengers, etc., can be exploited by scammers to request loans from contacts/friends, promote scams, or disseminate malware (by sharing malicious files/links) under the guise of the real owners. Stolen finance-related accounts, such as online banking, e-commerce, digital wallets, etc., may be used for fraudulent transactions and/or online purchases.

How Can You Tell an Unsolicited Email is a Scam?

Unsolicited emails are often used by scammers as a tool to deceive individuals and to conduct fraudulent activities. There are several ways to tell if an unsolicited email is a scam:

• The email's sender is unknown or has a suspicious name: Scammers often use a fake name or an email address that appears legitimate to trick individuals into opening their emails. Always check the sender's email address, and if it seems suspicious, do not open the email.
• The email contains an urgent request for personal information: Scammers often use urgent language to convince individuals to disclose their personal information. Be wary of emails that require you to provide personal information urgently.
• The email contains a generic greeting: Scammers often use generic greetings such as "Dear Customer" or "Dear Sir/Madam" instead of using your name. Be suspicious of emails that do not use your name or use a generic greeting.
• The email contains spelling or grammatical errors: Legitimate companies take care to ensure that their emails are free of errors. If you notice spelling or grammatical errors, it may be a sign that the email is a scam.
• The email contains a suspicious link or attachment: Scammers often use links or attachments to distribute malware or to redirect individuals to fake websites. Always hover over the link to see if the URL matches the company's official website.

If you receive an unsolicited email that appears to be a scam, do not reply to the email, do not click on any links, and do not provide any personal information. Instead, delete the email immediately or report it to your email provider.