What is the “Your account has been suspended” e-mail scam? What are the “Your account has been suspended” scam messages? How to stop “Your account has been suspended” e-mail scam? How to remove the “Your account has been suspended” e-mail scam from your computer thoroughly?
The “Your account has been suspended” e-mail is a part of series of scam messages, whose main goal is to convince victims that they have to pay 500 USD. The main extortion message used in the “Save Yourself” e-mail scam is to threaten victims that they must pay a hefty ransom in order to remove alleged evidence against them, such as videos and other private information. If you want to know how you have gotten the “Save Yourself” scam, then we recommend that you read this article thoroughly.
Your account has been suspended Email Scam
Our analysis shows that the scam is being spread massively on a global scale. There are 3 main distribution methods that spread this scam and others of this type:
1. Your email was breached. It may be that your email address was part of a data breach, and there have been several pretty big breaches in the past few years. You can check your email address via Troy Hunt’s Have I Been Pwned website. If it turns out that your email has been compromised in a data breach, you should change its password. Use a unique password for each of your accounts, and forget about the dangerous habit of using one password (or a variation of the same password) for all your accounts.
2. Your email was gathered. Email harvesting can be done via different methods but the purpose is usually the same – to use collected data for spamming or sending bulk emails. There are special programs that automate the process of email harvesting. In most cases, a spam bot is used for searching email addresses in web pages. These are then added to a database and sold to spammers. Your email address was likely harvested and ended up on a spammers’ list.
3. Your PC was infected. This option should not be overlooked, especially if you have opened a suspicious email attachment in a phishing email, or clicked on an unknown link. If you have interacted with such a phishing message, your accounts may have been compromised, email accounts included. Your financial details may be at risk, as well. So it may be a good idea to scan your system for spyware or malware. Proceed to the end of this article for further instructions.
Threat Summary
| Name | Your account has been suspended |
| Type | E-Mail scam. |
| Short Description | Aims to trick victims into paying BitCoin by using the fear in them. |
| Symptoms | Scam e-mails that accuse you of wrongroing and extort you into paying BitCoin. |
| Distribution Method | Via e-mail spam bots. |
| Detection Tool |
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Malware Removal Tool
|
User Experience | Join Our Forum to Discuss Your account has been suspended. |
Your account has been suspended Email Scam – More Information
The main message of this e-mail scam is the following:
The main way of propagation of the Your account has been suspended e-mail scam is likely done as a result of being spread via e-mail spam campaigns. Usually, what scammers do is they tend to send various e-mails to victims massively. How they got the list of victim e-mails, however, is a mystery yet to be solved. One possible scenario is that you may have given away your e-mail on a suspicious site, or the address may have been copied directly from your browser via cookies, used by adware or some other unwanted programs installed on your device.
In fact, one user on Apple support forums reports the following:
Roger Wilmut1
User level: Level 10
(112,662 points)
macOSSpeciality level out of ten: 1Dec 17, 2017 4:47 AM in response to Helen198822
It’s a really bad idea to post your email address, even in an image – it’s an invitation to spam – and I’ve asked the Hosts to remove it.
The message is a fake, an attempt to get your ID and password. Apple will never email you a message like this – if they do have to suspend your account they won’t email you, they will wait for you to find out.
Real emails from Apple will always address you by name, not your email address or ‘Dear Customer’ or similar. Never ever follow links or ring telephone numbers in these email: if you want to check your account go directly to the Apple web page.
Either way, when you receive it, the Your account has been suspended scam e-mail could begin to appear on your computer from e-mail addresses, called “SaveYou”. These are usually randomly generated by the scammers and appear like “SaveYou35@4295.com” and they may exist in many variants.
In fact, e-mail scams of this type have been lurking across the web for quite some time. Other cases reported by our team are the so-called “This is my final warning”, “I greet you I have bad news for you”, and “I’m a programmer who cracked your email” email scams.
If you come across a sextortion scam that aims to blackmail you into transferring cryptocurrency to hackers’ wallets, do not open any links that are directly clickable in it. If you did, chances are that you may have been infected by malware already. In some dangerous cases, simply opening a suspicious e-mail could get you into infected. This is why, if you have come across the “Your account has been suspended” e-mail scam we strongly recommend that you read this article thoroughly.
Your account has been suspended Scam Email – Removal Guide
In order to check for any malware that may have infected you as a result of opening the “Your account has been suspended” email scam, we strongly recommend that you read the removal steps underneath. If you are unsure of a malware infection, then we strongly recommend that you scan your computer with professional anti-malware software. Such a tool will effectively detect and eliminate any actual threats allegedly compromising your computer.
Ventsislav Krastev
Ventsislav is a cybersecurity expert at SensorsTechForum since 2015. He has been researching, covering, helping victims with the latest malware infections plus testing and reviewing software and the newest tech developments. Having graduated Marketing as well, Ventsislav also has passion for learning new shifts and innovations in cybersecurity that become game changers. After studying Value Chain Management, Network Administration and Computer Administration of System Applications, he found his true calling within the cybersecrurity industry and is a strong believer in the education of every user towards online safety and security.
Follow Me:
Preparation Phase:
Before starting to follow the steps below, be advised that you should first do the following preparations:
- Backup your files in case the worst happens.
- Make sure to have a device with these instructions on standy.
- Arm yourself with patience.
Step 1: Uninstall Your account has been suspended and remove related files and objects
1. Hit the ⇧+⌘+U keys to open Utilities. Another way is to click on “Go” and then click “Utilities”, like the image below shows:
- Go to Finder.
- In the search bar type the name of the app that you want to remove.
- Above the search bar change the two drop down menus to “System Files” and “Are Included” so that you can see all of the files associated with the application you want to remove. Bear in mind that some of the files may not be related to the app so be very careful which files you delete.
- If all of the files are related, hold the ⌘+A buttons to select them and then drive them to “Trash”.
In case you cannot remove Your account has been suspended via Step 1 above:
In case you cannot find the virus files and objects in your Applications or other places we have shown above, you can manually look for them in the Libraries of your Mac. But before doing this, please read the disclaimer below:
You can repeat the same procedure with the following other Library directories:
→ ~/Library/LaunchAgents
/Library/LaunchDaemons
Tip: ~ is there on purpose, because it leads to more LaunchAgents.
Step 2: Remove Your account has been suspended – related extensions from Safari / Chrome / Firefox
Remove an extension from Safari and reset it.
Remove a toolbar from Google Chrome
Remove a toolbar from Mozilla Firefox
Step 3: Scan for and remove Your account has been suspended files from your Mac
When you are facing problems on your Mac as a result of unwanted scripts and programs such as Your account has been suspended, the recommended way of eliminating the threat is by using an anti-malware program. SpyHunter for Mac offers advanced security features along with other modules that will improve your Mac’s security and protect it in the future.
Your account has been suspended FAQ
What is Your account has been suspended on your Mac?
The Your account has been suspended threat is probably a potentially unwanted app. There is also a chance it could be related to Mac malware. If so, such apps tend to slow your Mac down siginficantly and display advertisements. They could also use cookies and other trackers to obtain browsing information from the installed web browsers on your Mac.
The creators of such unwanted apps work with pay-per-click schemes to get your Mac to visit risky or different types of websites that may generate them funds. This is why they do not even care what types of websites show up on the ads. This makes their unwanted software indirectly risky for your MacOS.
Can my Mac get a virus?
Yes. As much as any other device, Apple computers do get viruses. Apple devices may not be a frequent target by malware authors, but rest assured that the following Apple devices can become infected with a virus:
- iMac
- Mac Mini
- Macbook Air
- Macbook Pro
- iPhone
- iPad
What are the symptoms of Your account has been suspended on your Mac?
There are several symptoms to look for when this particular threat and also most Mac threats in general are active:
Symptom #1: Your Mac may become slow and has poor performance in general.
Symtpom #2: You have toolbars, add-ons or extensions on your web browsers that you don't remember adding.
Symptom #3: You see all types of ads, like ad-supported search results, pop-ups and redirects to randomly appear.
Symptom #4: You see installed apps on your Mac running automatically and you do not remember installing them.
Symptom #5: You see suspicious processes running in your Mac's Activity Monitor.
If you see one or more of those symptoms, then security experts reccomend that you check your Mac for viruses.
What types of Mac threats are there?
According to most malware researchers and cyber-security experts, the threats that can currently infect your Mac can be the following types:
- Rogue Antivirus programs.
- Adware and hijackers.
- Trojan horses and other spyware.
- Ransomware and screen-lockers.
- Cryptocurrency miner malware.
What to do if I have a Mac virus, like Your account has been suspended?
Do not panic! You can easily get rid of most Mac threats by firstly isolating them and then removing them. One reccomended way to do that is by using a reputable malware removal software that can take care of the removal automatically for you. There are many Mac anti-malware apps out there that you can choose from. SpyHunter for Mac is one of the reccomended Mac anti-malware apps, that can scan for free and detect any viruses, tracking cookies and unwanted adware apps plus take care of them quickly. This saves time for manual removal that you would otherwise have to do.
How to secure my passwords and other data from Your account has been suspended?
With few simple actions. First and foremost, it is imperative that you follow these steps:
Step 1: Find a safe computer and connect it to another network, not the one that your Mac was infected in.
Step 2: Change all of your passwords, starting from your e-mail passwords.
Step 3: Enable two-factor authentication for protection of your important accounts.
Step 4: Call your bank to change your credit card details (secret code, etc.) if you have saved your credit card for online shopping or have done online activiites with your card.
Step 5: Make sure to call your ISP (Internet provider or carrier) and ask them to change your IP address.
Step 6: Change your Wi-Fi password.
Step 7: (Optional): Make sure to scan all of the devices connected to your network for viruses and repeat these steps for them if they are affected.
Step 8: Install anti-malware software with real-time protection on every device you have.
Step 9: Try not to download software from sites you know nothing about and stay away from low-reputation websites in general.
If you follow these reccomendations, your network and Apple devices will become significantly more safe against any threats or information invasive software and be virus free and protected in the future too.
More tips you can find on our website, where you can also ask any questions and comment about your Mac problems.
