‘Confirm Ownership’ Email Account Phishing Scam

According to this email, which claims to be from the System Administrator*,  I am required to confirm ownership of my email account.

It warns that I will be blocked from sending and receiving email if I do not confirm my details within 72 hours of receiving the notification.

However, the email is not from any legitimate system administrator or “Secured Service”.  It is a phishing scam designed to steal my email account password.

If I went ahead and clicked the link, I would be taken to a phishing website that would ask me to log in with my email address and email account password. Criminals could then collect my login credentials and use them to take control of my email account.

Once in, they could use my account to distribute scam, spam, and malware emails in my name.

Email account phishing scams like this are very common.  Your email service provider will never send you an unsolicited email that demands that you login to avoid losing your account.  Be wary of any message that makes such claims. If you receive one, just delete it. Do not click any links it contains.

It is always safest to login to your email account via a trusted app or by entering the address into your browser’s address bar.

Some versions of these scams may attempt to collect further personal and financial information from you via fake update forms.

* There is some irony here in that since the quoted email address comes from a domain that I own and manage, I AM the “System Administrator”.  🙂 

A screenshot of the scam email:

Transcript of the scam email:

Subject: Confirm Ownership !

System Administrator

Dear catch,

You would be blocked from sending and receiving emails if you do not confirm within 72 hrs of receiving this automated mail.

CONFIRM YOUR DETAILS HERE:

Thanks and Regards,
© 2020 Secured Service.
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Please do not reply to this email. This auto-mailbox is not monitored and you will not receive a response.