Spam

"Professional Hacker Managed To Hack Your Operating System" is a popular spam message designed to bait inexperienced users into thinking their computer has been hacked and therefore used for extracting explicit/private content from it. In fact, all the claims made by this or similar spam messages are fake and have nothing to do with what they say. The message usually claims that cybercriminals gained access to various recording devices (e.g., camera, microphone, screen) and have used them for recording sensitive content without users' permission over the course of several months. It is said that threat actors managed to infiltrate a spyware virus which allowed them to get explicit recordings of e-mail recipients watching adult content on pornography websites. To keep the non-existent recordings unpublicized, scammers give 50 hours to pay 850 USD or 1750 EUR in Bitcoin cryptocurrency - or otherwise, the content will be leaked and shared with users' contacts. As we already mentioned, the "Professional Hacker Managed To Hack Your Operating System" and other similar spam campaigns are designed to spread fake information and make users believe in non-existent threats. Thus, paying scammers is pointless and will simply end up being a waste of your money. Even if sometimes such messages partially coincide with what a person was doing, there is still nothing to worry about due to the aforementioned. Spam messages are countless and can be titled in different ways, such as "Your personal data has leaked due to suspected harmful activities.", "Ihre persönlichen Daten sind wegen des Verdachts auf schädliche Aktivitäten nach außen gelangt." and so forth. Beware of such messages and read our guide with useful tips on how to avoid such e-mail scam techniques and lower the chance of their delivery.

"Your Mailbox Is Full" is a widespread spam campaign that distributes fake messages saying users have overstuffed their mailbox storage and need to update it. The subject of such spam messages often contains titles like "Your mailbox is full", "ERROR ID: Mail-box storage full UPGRADE NOW!!!", or others depending on the spam variant. Inside the message, users are usually encouraged to click the "UPGRADE HERE", "UPGRADE STORAGE" or similar buttons to get more storage space for sending and receiving messages. In fact, all claims made by this spam campaign are fake and must not be trusted. The button that cybercriminals ask users to click simply leads to a phishing web page that requires entering e-mail login credentials. Please note that any properly-entered login credentials on phishing websites will most likely be recorded and become visible to threat actors standing behind this phishing affair. As a result, the collected data may not only be used for accessing e-mail accounts, but also for stealing other accounts (e.g., social media, e-wallet services, messengers, and so forth) that were registered with the same credentials. Social media accounts like Facebook may thereafter be manipulated for pretending to be the original owner and asking for loans from friends. Thus, if you got lured into entering details on the phishing website, we strongly advise you to change the password of your e-mail and other accounts that could potentially be exposed to the hijackers. Never become a victim of such spam techniques again and read our guide below to get effective tools for protecting yourself against them.

Voicemail email spam is one of many email spam campaigns employed by cybercriminals around the web. It is designed to make users believe they received an actual voice message. One such email letter that got under our observation displayed information caller's name, number, and also the duration of the voicemail. In order to open this voicemail, users are given instructions to click on the button ("Preview voicemail") or link and enter their log-in details (email address and password). While such email letters may vary in their content, the purpose usually remains the same - to urge inexperienced users into entering their log-in credentials on a phishing page or downloading some malicious file/program. Please note that entering personal data on such websites is dangerous and will most likely expose your log-in credentials to cybercriminals. If the entered details are correct, this will allow cybercriminals to hijack associated accounts and steal them afterward. The stolen accounts may therefore be used for scamming other people by impersonating the account owner's name, for instance, on various social media. And since such people may identify the user as a person they already know, they are more likely to perform actions requested by cybercriminals (e.g., lend money, open a malicious link/file, and so forth). Furthermore, cybercriminals may also attempt to access banking-related accounts and perform unauthorized transfers of money. If you became a victim of voicemail email or other spam techniques, immediately change your passwords for accounts that might be in danger. It is highly recommended to create different passwords for each account in use as it will decrease the risk of major account loss/damage in case of a password leak. Read our guide below to find out about how fraudulent schemes tend to infect systems; what one should do if he detects a scam; if an e-mail is continuously under consistent spam attacks; and other steps to keep your e-mail spam-free.

Payroll Timetable is a malicious e-mail campaign designed to trick users into downloading a devastating trojan called TrickBot. Developers in charge of this campaign send thousands of identical messages representing fake information about some payroll timetable. By impersonating the name of a legitimate company named PricewaterhouseCoopers and pretending to be its employees, cybercriminals encourage users to review some "irregularities" by opening the attached file. Such text is usually random to users and simply meant to raise curiosity for opening a malicious attachment in .docx, .xls, or other MS Office formats. If you ever receive a message accompanied by some attachment, chances are, this is an attempt to deliver a virus infection. The distributed TrickBot trojan is meant to record sensitive information (e.g., passwords, usernames, e-mails, etc.) and use it for stealing related accounts. The scope of cybercriminals is especially towards various finance-related applications, such as pocket banks or crypto-wallets. Unfortunately, if you trusted the Payroll Timetable e-mail message and opened the attached document, then your system is more likely infected. Use our guide below to avert the damage by running complete deletion of the infection.

Many users can receive various kinds of phishing e-mail letters that try to spread malware or steal account credentials. One of such e-mail scams can be a letter sent from a fake automated e-mail address ostensibly belonging to Dropbox. Developers behind this scam attempt to deceive inexperienced users into clicking on a highlighted hyperlink that represents a chain of links in multiple PDF documents. One of such links leads users to a forged Microsoft sign-in page. The opened scam page, therefore, asks users to enter their login credentials. If such details are given on a fake page, they will be easily recorded by scam developers and more likely used for stealing access to various Microsoft-associated accounts (examples are Office, Skype, Outlook, OneDrive, and so forth). Furthermore, in case the provided credentials were used for registering other accounts around the web, cybercriminals may try to fit them for accessing those accounts as well. If eventually became a victim of such or a similar scam, immediately change your password to prevent threat actors from exploiting your account. Note that Dropbox e-mail scams and other phishing letters may vary in the content they present, however, their purpose usually remains the same - to bait users into clicking on links/files and entering certain details. As an alternative, it can easily be a fake page asking you to enter your credit/debit card credentials. Beware of it and read our guide below to know the protection measures against such e-mails scams in the future.

Last Warning: Upgrade Your Email To Avoid Shutting Down is a type of scam message that urges users to open a phishing website and enter their e-mail log-in credentials. The scam message claims it was sent by some e-mail administration team, which investigated your account and decided it has to be upgraded. For this, the letter says it is necessary to click on the "Continue Account Maintenance" button and log in on the redirected webpage with the user's e-mail and password. Unless this requirement is met, scammers promise to "shut down" or "block" the user's account.

Alike other similar schemes, Geek Squad email scam is designed to trick users into reacting to fake subscription notifications and acting upon cybercriminals' requests. The letter attempts to make users believe they have been charged for the renewal of the annual Geek Total Protection or similar subscription ($499.99). However, because users did not pay for any subscriptions intentionally, cybercriminal actors expect victims to call the provided +1-808-666-6112 (or similar) telephone number. Note that the subsidiary Geek Squad of the authentic consumer electronics corporation Best Buy has nothing to do with such letters you might have received. If you did not do any payments yourself and double-checked your bank account for such deductions, it is more likely such email messages are fake and contain the above-mentioned text. After calling the number of fake Geek Squad representatives, users will be therefore guided by cybercriminals to provide sensitive details (credit card info, social security number, etc.), pay a "fee" to cancel the subscription, or even install some software allowing scammers to remote-access your PC. Whatever they say is most likely a scam designed to extract financial benefits from inexperienced and gullible users. Beware of these scam techniques and read our guide below to learn how one can protect himself better against them.

"McAfee Subscription Has Expired" is a message that one can receive to his or her e-mail address. On the initial basis, McAfee is a legitimate company developing professional solutions against various computer threats. However, cybercriminals use its name to spread fake messages about expired subscriptions and that users have to renew them. It is said that people ('who got lucky to receive this e-mail'), are eligible to use a one-day limited offer and purchase a 2-year McAfee subscription of completely antimalware experience for only $29.99. Clicking on the "Buy now" hyperlink leads to a rogue website that displays a fake list of detected threats on your PC. Of course, it is fake and otherwise designed to force inexperienced users into paying for non-existing subscriptions or downloading suspicious software. Entered card details on shady websites like this may be collected to steal more money and sell information to third-party figures. Thus, if you got tricked into entering your financial credentials, we recommend you call your bank and block the utilized card immediately. Messages like "McAfee Subscription Has Expired" may be delivered to users who, in fact, have never had any relation with McAfee Antimalware services. This would be a good sign for such users to assume that it is a scam created to extort money from them. Read our guide below to learn more useful information on protecting yourself against phishing means of distributing malware or scam techniques.