Tag: Phishing Email

Instagram Phishing Email: We detected a new login into your Instagram account

Anurag2 Comments

How to Spot the Phishing Email Right Away

The first red flag in this scam is that the email doesn’t come from an official Instagram domain. Instead, the message is sent via an unfamiliar email address that is clearly not affiliated with Instagram. A legitimate email from Instagram will come from an official domain like @mail.instagram.com or similar. If you notice the sender’s email address is strange or not even remotely related to Instagram, it’s a phishing attempt.

Email Body: Suspicious Links and No Mention of Account Details

This phishing email didn’t mention Instagram username, the location of the alleged login, or any details expected from a real alert.

Moreover, the email typically contains links urging you to “Send Password Request” and “Not My Request“. Instead of leading to Instagram’s official site, the link is a mailto: link with several email addresses, which is highly suspicious. No legitimate company, let alone Instagram, would handle account security issues this way.

Upon reviewing the email header, I noticed that it was sent from 144 . 76 . 133 . 106 (Germany).

And all the email addresses were listed in the mailto: field.

Key Red Flags of the Phishing Email

  • Unfamiliar Email Address: Always check the sender’s email address. Phishing emails usually come from random addresses that don’t resemble official Instagram domains.
  • No Mention of Your Account: The email fails to specify which Instagram account is affected. A legitimate alert would always include details such as your account username, device, or location of the suspicious activity.
  • Suspicious Links: The email includes odd links (often mailto: links with multiple email addresses) instead of leading to Instagram’s official help page or security center.
  • Generic Greeting: Phishing emails often use non-personal greetings like “Dear User” or “Hello Instagram User” instead of addressing you by your actual name or username.
  • Pressure Tactics: The email urges immediate action to “secure your account,” but provides no credible way to verify the login attempt through legitimate channels.

Conclusion

The “We detected a new login into your Instagram account” phishing email is an obvious scam, particularly when you notice that it doesn’t mention which account was compromised. The lack of details, unfamiliar sender, and suspicious links make it easy to identify as a phishing attempt. Stay vigilant, verify any unusual emails, and always prioritize your online security.

Have you ever encountered an email like this? Share your experience and help others stay safe online!

Phishing email impersonating as CEO of Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C)

Anurag1 Comment

I have been recently receiving phishing emails impersonating as Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C). Upon investigating, multiple users had reported these scams on twitter/X and reddit.

1st phishing email received on April 8, 2024:

Its also been tweeted by @Cyberdost which is an X account for Cyber-safety and Cybersecurity awareness handle maintained by Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India

I tried to dig in and checked email header. This email has been received from id: adegoodchild950@gmail.com

2nd phishing email received on: May 18, 2024

Received another email impersonating as “Mr. Prashant Gautam policecybercrimeindia@gmail.com“

Certainly this is phishing email and I checked email header of this email and this was sent by mrstheresarolland7@gmail.com

To check whether both emails have been sent by same person or group:

I put login email as mrstheresarolland7@gmail.com on Gmail and clicked on forgot password. It gave me Account recovery option sending verification code on alternative email id.

The recovery email id is matching to earlier email sender ids first three letters adegoodchild950@gmail.com. Though this could be a coincidence.