Every email is a scammer's target, open only if you are expecting

[Crypt0Gore]

Be careful which messages you decide to open up in your email account, some are malicious codes, I get this mail inbox today and its full of recovery seed and a PDF file that consists of God knows what..

1) its either this consists of a malware that will hunt down every crypto related assets on your PC or every bank account information on your PC.

2) or its one of those wallets and automatically send out ETH when you greedily deposit Ethereum on the wallet. Do not claim what's not yours.



Do not download PDFs from mails, its 💯 Danger 🚸

[Aanuoluwatofunmi]

Don't be surprised that even on the forum like this many just have to activate the function of "hide your email" from public view just as not to receive unsolicited troll on it, but i will say that if we do not make an opening for them there's no way or means for them to penetrate in, let's take caution of the websites visited, links we click, google forms we fill, ads and downloads we make, this will Shield us away to an extent far from any attempted means to attack us.

[cryptoaddictchie]

If you win something but you never joined any contest or any raffle then avoid it. You yourself knows that you didnt participate and hence you got some free/airdrop or any form of rewards, then think twice before clicking or downloading any files from that. Obviously they are targetting multiple individuals randomly by the data or email they got from maybe sold accounts in the black market or whatnot. Be safe and dont divulge your email on any sites.

[CryptopreneurBrainboss]

but i will say that if we do not make an opening for them there's no way or means for them to penetrate in, let's take caution of the websites visited, links we click, google forms we fill, ads and downloads we make, this will Shield us away to an extent far from any attempted means to attack us.

Provided you're on the internet, your information like email can be easily gotten by this spammers (hoping to take advantage of your ignorant) from the dark web especially when you fill form online like survey, bounty, giveaway etc. Even exchanges or other top sites can leak your private information out either unknowingly through hacks or those selling customers data for profit. This is why it's recommended not to use the same email you use for your regular activity online for other important things like bank transactions.

Scam attempt like this aren't new and they'll still be used in coming years because the Crypto community is an easy target as novice flow into the space yearly. Even though you're expecting a similar kind of email due to the activity you engaged yourself online, always make sure the sender of the email correspond to who you're expecting an email from as this scammers are always cleaver in their attempt to scam you.

[Ryker1]

Well your email has been compromised and you must change it if this store valuable information.
This means --I assume that you used this in claiming airdrops or any activities that your email has been exposed to. If you used this now in your forum account or used this in any of your valuable accounts like your local crypto wallet, it is better to change it now before it is too late.
Always separate your email on activities that expose your email like participating in airdrops. 

[Crypt0Gore]

Don't be surprised that even on the forum like this many just have to activate the function of "hide your email" from public view just as not to receive unsolicited troll on it, but i will say that if we do not make an opening for them there's no way or means for them to penetrate in, let's take caution of the websites visited, links we click, google forms we fill, ads and downloads we make, this will Shield us away to an extent far from any attempted means to attack us.

Now I know why its safer to avoid shilling your bags on the forum while your email address is visible? If you do this one can target your email address hoping that you fall victim to their traps, good one newbie.

[Natalim]

I usually receive emails coming from unknown senders. Though I was never expecting them, however, I use to check them maybe it was important or it was just from my relatives, who knows right? But when it comes to seeing emails that contain links, I have skipped and deleted them with no hesitation. This is a way to avoid downloading unnecessary apps that might infect our computers. It was not only how the scammers work like this but hackers as well. We are aware of these scenarios then have no reason why we have to click them and let it stay on our inbox.

[hugeblack]

I thought that the danger in opening the e-mail was limited and not downloading the attachments, regardless of their nature.
Personally, I blame Google because they can do more or block emails that send spam quickly or develop automated, but their profits and data collection make them not do that.

Generally, if you are not 100% sure about the sender, do not open the message.

[passwordnow]

I just ignore those emails that are in my spam, sometimes they're in my inbox but I delete them. If it's obviously looking like spam and a try to phish me, I don't waste my time on it.
But sadly, I am not one of their targets but the newbies that are not aware of this trick. If the email is unknown to me, that's the sign already and whatever story they make, I don't buy it.

[GiftedMAN]

Personally, I have received several Emails from unknown senders requesting for some personal information about me so that certain items which am not aware of can be delivered to me but knowing who they are I just delete the emails without hesitation.
Just as CrytopreneurBrainboss said, provided you are connected to the Internet, certain information about you is already stored online so the best you can do is to protect your emails from hackers by not using a particular email on your online transactions.

[Lucius]

~snip~

It is not dangerous to open an e-mail and read it (someone corrects me if such e-mails exist), but it is dangerous to click on links that we receive from unknown senders, as well as to download any contents that are attached to such e-mails. I have a Gmail which is practically public and to which I receive dozens of e-mails on a daily basis, but at least 90% of such e-mails end up in spam, so I think that their spam filter does its job quite solidly.

What everyone can do to help in the fight against spam e-mails is that when they receive such an e-mail in their Inbox, they report it as spam - which, after a certain number of reports, will automatically send that message to the spam folder for everyone else. Unfortunately, people are too curious, so they look at what's in that folder, and that curiosity can sometimes be very dangerous.

[lovesmayfamilis]

A few years ago, there was a clever trick that in the title of the letter contained something like, “If you are not interested in this, just click on the “reject” button.” 
At the time when a person clicks on a link or button, a huge amount of advertising begins to come to his address. That is, the mail address becomes known to spam companies. Sometimes, just hovering over a link can be dangerous. On some older Windows systems, the virus may automatically start. Therefore, it is always recommended to use fresh systems and update your systems and antivirus regularly.

[m2017]

The easiest way to avoid the danger of using email is to use a virtual machine or a separate PC to interact with crypto currencies. In this case, malware will not pose a threat. And in general, I think that you need to separate your devices depending on the activity. Some for work, others for entertainment and recreation, others for interacting with finances. In this case, the possible damage from malware is reduced. It is not known from which addressee (even from your acquaintances) a letter may come, as in OP's story, and this can happen even under the guise of an important and necessary document for you.

[Lafu]

Be careful which messages you decide to open up in your email account, some are malicious codes, I get this mail inbox today and its full of recovery seed and a PDF file that consists of God knows what..
Do not download PDFs from mails, its 💯 Danger 🚸

You should always dont trust any Links in Emails first , make it to a normal routine to look and do a research for any Links.
Its maybe annoying and bit time consuming for doing it everytime but will safe you a lot of trouble in end , mostly .

In the company i work they making random tests with the Email Accounts , like you getting fake phishing emails and such things.
If you fail and open to much of the test fake emails you getting a schooling about security for IT and your email Account again  .

[AakZaki]

it is certain that the embedded file is malware that is injected into the PDF file. This scammer provides a trap in the form of a document file in order to trick the victim into downloading and opening it. I've also received emails like this several times and they don't go to the spam folder. If it is suspected of being a malicious email, it is better to block it immediately and direct it to spam or delete it, never open the file sent or follow the instructions in it. and the need for extra protection for the devices used so that they are not easily infected with viruses and malware spread by scammers.

[nurilham]

I received so many emails from unknown address and they are really disturbing. Yes, scammers will always try to aproach us moroever if our email has been resgistered somewhere and they can get our email easily from certain plaftorms or ways. Online and digital manners is quite easy to hack and scam right now.
I really do agree with you to be much more careful about opening the email. It is better to let those trashes into spam or trash parts, and never open moreover if the title has been suspicious that is like investment offers, surprise prizes, and all kinds of other interesting tricks. Most of these are just promotions and most of them are scams. SO, once more, be careful.
Never trust any email that inform you ar ethe winner of something, because they will be commonly scammers. Or ever kclick any links that they give to you if you dont't know them and don;t expect to get the email from certain parties.

[Welsh]

If you reuse your email on every site, it'll be leaked. It's a guarantee. I suspect the majority of users here have had their email leaked here on the forum. Whether it was from the forum getting compromised or if it was another site getting compromised. You can't realistically protect from this, and therefore you'll probably always be subject to spam email. Obviously, using unique email addresses for every site mitigates that, and changing the email once it has been leaked. However, the reality is most users don't do that.

Everyone on this forum prior to the compromise (which I believe was 2015?) had their email leaked, and therefore could be subject to these types of attacks. Since, the database seems to have been sold quite a lot in the years following.

[FatFork]

A spam filter is indeed a useful thing. I don't know the specific percentage of such e-mails that are filtered, but their number apparently doesn't reach 100%. I would advise everyone to read emails carefully pay special attention to the sender, and don't open attachments and click on links if you don't know who sent them. It's also good idea to avoid downloading anything from sites that can be suspected to distribute malware or have other potential risks. Unfortunately, you can never be 100% sure whether the e-mail that you received is trustworthy. We shouldn't forget that spam filter is only an auxiliary control. In the end, it's us who makes the final decision.

[isaac_clarke22]

~

Not anything new, OP. I hope this was the last time that you ever saw these kinds of emails.
People have been reporting this as well in Telegram where a random guy would send you his/her recovery phrase. Just ignore it and don't interact with the email as they would confirm that there's a legitimate and an active user behind the email.

In case you have registered the said email in multiple site, maybe give "Have I been Pawned" a check. It will check if your email is involved in a site breach.

[bitbollo]

Never open attachments! Good suggestion but is basic for navigate on the web

I thought that the danger in opening the e-mail was limited and not downloading the attachments, regardless of their nature.
Personally, I blame Google because they can do more or block emails that send spam quickly or develop automated, but their profits and data collection make them not do that.

Generally, if you are not 100% sure about the sender, do not open the message.

The same apply with microsoft outlook. they are not blocking tons of emails and practically doing nothing.
Since I have nothing interesting to do during my days ( ) I love make a report as phishing email/spam and so on received in one of my secondary email (dedicated to spam). but anyway all effort it's practically useless since I receive a lot each day with some silly message.

The best, one of my favourite I am receiving is something like "Police want talk to you/you get arrested open the pdf attached" LOL what stupid scammers we have around here