what is “aol email scam”?
“aol email scam” is another spam email campaign used by cyber criminals. Unlike most of these campaigns, which try to trick users into downloading/installing malware or sending money to cybercriminals, “aol email scam” tries to trick users into entering email account credentials from aol.
This method is called phishing. criminals send out thousands of misleading emails stating that users’ accounts are about to be “closed” and encouraging them to cancel the process. this is all just a scam.
“aol email scam” overview
“aol email scam” emails indicate that aol mail administrators recently received a user account deletion request. it is also indicated that if it is an error and it is not necessary to delete the account, the user must cancel the entire process by clicking on the link provided. Please note, however, that the link address leads to a fake aol email website that contains a login screen.
When users enter their login/password information, the details are immediately saved to a remote server and cybercriminals gain access to their accounts. Please note that aol mail is a legitimate service/company and has nothing to do with this spam campaign.
Cyber criminals simply claim to be employees of this company and send thousands of misleading emails hoping that some people will fall for the scam and enter their account credentials.
Kidnapped accounts can be misused in various ways: criminals can try to borrow money from victims’ contacts, hijack other accounts via “reset password” function, send deceptive messages to other people, etc.
Therefore, being hijacked in this way can lead to privacy issues, financial loss, and even identity theft. For these reasons, you should ignore all “aol email scam” emails.
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spam campaigns in general
There are hundreds of spam campaigns online. for example, you may not know me, email scam, let’s not steal long email scam, designer email virus, and christmas greetings email virus. some are used to extort money from unsuspecting users by threatening them. In most cases, cybercriminals use the so-called “sextortion” method.
they claim they hijacked the computer’s webcam and microphone and recorded the victim “masturbating.” they claim that they will share the video with all of the victim’s contacts unless a ransom is paid (which usually ranges from $500 to $1000, in bitcoins or another cryptocurrency).
Unfortunately, many users are tricked into paying even though no such videos actually exist. Other spam campaigns spread high-risk viruses, such as emotet, adwind, hancitor, formbook, etc.
these contain malicious attachments designed to infect computers. Infiltrated viruses often record personal data (saved logins/passwords, browsing history, keystrokes, etc.) and open “back doors”. Viruses of this type pose a significant threat to your privacy and the security of your computer.
how do spam campaigns infect computers?
As mentioned, spam campaigns that distribute viruses contain malicious attachments (for example, pdf files, microsoft office documents, executables, archives, etc.), however the attachment must be downloaded and opened before that may cause some damage. therefore, manual user intervention is required.
if the attachment is an ms office document, it usually asks to enable macro commands that download and install malware. executables must be opened manually. Please note that lack of knowledge of these threats and careless behavior are the main reasons for these infections.
how to prevent installation of malware?
The key to computer security is caution. To prevent these infections, be very careful when surfing the Internet. think twice before opening any email attachment. files/links that are irrelevant and those received from suspicious/unrecognizable email addresses should never be opened. if you receive such messages, delete them immediately.
Also, have a reputable anti-virus/anti-spyware suite installed and running. these tools can detect and remove malware before it performs any malicious action and the presence of this software is essential when it comes to protecting the system from viruses.
If you have already opened malicious attachments, we recommend that you run a scan with the combo antivirus cleaner for windows to automatically remove infiltrated malware.
text presented in the “aol email scam” email message:
message from aol
Dear user, our log indicates that you recently made a request to close your email. and this request will be processed shortly. If this request was made accidentally and you are not aware of it, you are advised to cancel the request now
cancel deactivation
However, if you do not cancel this request, your account will be closed shortly and all your email data will be permanently lost. regards, email admin
This message is generated automatically from the email firewall and replies sent to this email cannot be delivered. this email is intended for: user only
Screenshot of fake aol website:
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quick menu:
- what is aol spam?
- types of malicious emails.
- how to detect malicious email?
- what What to do if you fall for an email scam?
types of malicious emails:
phishing emails
Cybercriminals typically use deceptive emails to trick Internet users into providing their sensitive private information, for example, login information for various online services, email accounts, or online banking information. line.
This type of attack is called phishing. In a phishing attack, cybercriminals often send an email with the logo of some popular service (eg microsoft, dhl, amazon, netflix), create an urgency (bad shipping address, expired password, etc.) and place a link that you hope your potential victims will click on.
After clicking on the link presented in such email message, victims are redirected to a fake website that looks identical or very similar to the original one. Victims are then prompted to enter their password, credit card details, or other information that the cybercriminals steal.
emails with malicious attachments
Another popular attack vector is spam with malicious attachments that infect users’ computers with malware. Malicious attachments usually contain Trojans that are capable of stealing passwords, banking information, and other sensitive information.
In these types of attacks, the main goal of cybercriminals is to trick their potential victims into opening an infected email attachment. To achieve this goal, emails often talk about recently received bills, faxes, or voicemails.
If a potential victim is tempted to open the attachment, their computers get infected and cybercriminals can collect a lot of sensitive information.
Although it is a more complicated method of stealing personal information (spam filters and antivirus programs often detect such attempts), if successful, cybercriminals can obtain a much wider variety of data and can collect information for a long period of time.
sextorsion emails
this is a type of phishing. In this case, users receive an email claiming that a cybercriminal could access the potential victim’s webcam and has a video recording of her masturbation.
To get rid of the video, victims are asked to pay a ransom (usually using bitcoin or another cryptocurrency). however, all of these claims are false; users receiving such emails should ignore and delete them.
how to detect a malicious email?
While cybercriminals try to make their lure emails look trustworthy, here are a few things to keep in mind when trying to spot a phishing email:
- verify the sender’s (“from”) email address: hover over the “from” address and check if it is 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 generic greetings: if the greeting in the email is “dear user”, “dear @youremail.com”, “dear customer”, this should raise suspicions. Most commonly, companies call you by name. missing this information could indicate a phishing attempt.
- check the links in the email: hover over the link presented in the email, if the link you appears looks suspicious, don’t click on 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 should not trust it. it’s best not to click on any links in emails, but visit the website of the company that sent you the email in the first place.
- don’t blindly trust email attachments Electronic: Most commonly, legitimate companies will ask you to log in to their website and 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 minimize the risk of opening malicious and phishing emails, we recommend that you use antivirus combo cleaner for windows.
example of a spam email:
what to do if you fell for an email scam?
- If you clicked a link in a phishing email and entered your password, be sure to change your password as soon as possible. Cybercriminals typically 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 is a chance that criminals won’t have enough time to do any damage.
- If you entered your credit card information, please contact your bank as soon as possible and explain the situation. there’s a good chance you’ll 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 antivirus combo cleaner for windows.
- help other internet users: report phishing emails to the anti-phishing working group, the reporting center FBI Internet Crime Reporting, the National Fraud Information Center and the U.S. department of justice.
frequently asked questions (faq)
Why did I receive this email?
Spam emails are sent by the thousands; they are not personal.
I provided my personal information when I was tricked by this spam email, what should I do?
If you have disclosed account login credentials, immediately change the passwords of all potentially compromised accounts. and if you have provided other private data to scammers (eg ID card details, credit card numbers, etc.), please contact the relevant authorities without delay.
I read a spam email but didn’t open the attachment, is my computer infected?
no, reading a spam email will not trigger any system infection process. download/installation of malware starts only after attachments or links present in these emails are opened or clicked.
I downloaded and opened a file attached to a spam email, is my computer infected?
whether an infection has started may depend on the file format. if it was an executable (.exe, .run, etc), then most likely yes, your system was infected. however, document formats (.doc, .exe, .pdf, etc.) may require additional user interaction (eg enabling macro commands) to start downloading/installing malware.
will combo cleaner remove malware infections present in email attachments?
yes, combo cleaner can detect and remove almost all known malware infections. It must be emphasized that performing a full system scan is essential, as sophisticated malware often hides deep within systems.