“Upgrade Account” – Do Not Trust This Fake Email

The “Upgrade Account” virus is a common name for the unwanted email spam you can get in your mailbox. These messages consist of fake requests about your account in a certain application. In this message, you are told that your account’s service terms are changed, and you need to choose the new account type. As the letter says, you need to log into your account to get upgraded automatically. This link, however, leads to the phishing website. You will see the complete description of this scam, as well as the possible risks associated with it in this short article.

What is the “Upgrade Account” virus?

The name which was attached to this scam by alarmed users does not mean that an unknown person from the app development team really tells you about the changes, blockages, or other things. The fraudsters who steal the credentials in such a tactic just choose this callsign to lull the vigilance. Name of the company they choose is usually a famous thing, that is considered trustworthy by a big number of users. And when the user receives this letter, he/she will not even think that this is a phishing¹. The chance that a user will follow the link or launch the file attached to this email message is very high.

The hysteria is escalated by the text of the “Upgrade Account” virus email message: it says that you must choose another account type as soon as possible. The causes are mentioned in the message – the account type you used will be canceled for some reasons. This makes the “Upgrade Account” scam different from similar ones – Citibank virus or employee retention credit spam. This method can vary depending on the decision of malware distributors. All looks legitimate, so the victim will likely follow the offered link. The phishing occurs right on the page, which the attached link will open. The user sees the offer to log into his email account and types his credentials. Then, this login information is just transferred to the fraudsters.

Dear *%username%*
We are closing down all outdated versions of the webmail, and you are on the old version as of 3/30/2021
Click the button below and Sign-In to get the latest version of the mailbox to avoid being De-activated on current version.

Sincerely,
*email provider name* Webmail support

How dangerous the Upgrade Account virus is?

Regardless of the stimulus the user clicked the link/file, he will lose his credentials. No viruses are downloaded on your PC – you give all the information to the crooks by yourself. Exactly, it is a reference example of phishing. No complicated methods, like exploit kit usage – users will do everything themselves.

This malware spreading scheme is also used to spread spyware, banking trojans and keyloggers. All of them are targeted on your sensitive information, usually – on the important login credentials. The second possible type of the virus may be the most harmful one if you make use of online banking. It is aimed at collecting the login credentials on the web pages of the banks, so it can easily thief your login/password. So, the cybercriminals will be able to do whatever they want with your equity². Meanwhile, spyware may miss your banking credentials but will definitely get all possible data about you and your computer. List of the installed programs, often-used apps, antivirus software onboard, credentials for the social networks – this and a lot of other information will be collected and sent to the command server.