Threat Actors Impersonate Squarespace with Fake Account Suspension Notification Designed to Steal Sensitive Information
In this phishing attack, cybercriminals send an email from a spoofed address impersonating Squarespace, attempting to deceive recipients with a fake account suspension notification. Using the subject line, "Action required: Your account has been disabled," the email claims that a recent payment authorization was denied by the recipient’s card issuer, causing the automatic renewal of a domain to fail. The message urges the recipient to review their account preferences and resolve the issue by clicking the provided link. However, should the recipient click the button labeled “Dashboard”, they will be redirected to a phishing site designed to steal sensitive information, such as login credentials or payment details. To obfuscate the true URL destination, the attacker uses a URL shortener. By mimicking official Squarespace communication, the attacker creates a sense of urgency and alarm over potential account suspension and domain expiration, manipulating the recipient into responding without verifying the legitimacy of the email.
Older, legacy email security tools struggle to accurately identify this email as an attack because it is sent from a spoofed email address, employs the use of a legitimate link, and lacks malicious attachments. Modern, AI-powered email security solutions flag that the sender is unknown to the recipient, detect links to suspicious domains, and recognize that the sender domain does not match any domains in the message to correctly identify the email as an attack.
Cybercriminals steal branding and impersonate Squarespace in this malicious email
How Does This Attack Bypass Email Defenses?
This email attack bypasses traditional security solutions for multiple reasons, including the following:
- Spoofed Email Address: The attacker spoofs a legitimate-sounding email address, bypassing basic email verification checks and adding perceived authenticity.
- Legitimate Link: The link redirects through a link shortener website, which can pass through basic link verification checks due to its seemingly legitimate structure.
- Absence of Malicious Attachments: The email avoids including attachments, which can be easily flagged by antivirus systems, and instead uses a suspicious link to evade detection.
How Did Abnormal Detect This Attack?
This attack was detected using AI and ML by analyzing various factors, including the following:
- Unknown Sender Consideration: The email is recognized as coming from an unknown sender who has never communicated with the recipient. Abnormal’s platform maintains a communication history and quickly flags deviations from established sender-recipient interaction patterns.
- Suspicious Link Analysis: Abnormal's systems scrutinize the presence of links leading to suspicious domains, triggering deeper analysis for possible malicious intent.
- Unusual Sending Behavior: The sender domain does not match any of the domains found in the body links, raising suspicion.
By recognizing established normal behavior and detecting these abnormal indicators, a modern email security solution has the ability to prevent this attack from reaching inboxes.
Please note the exact detection mechanism from Abnormal Security's system might include proprietary techniques and methodologies not disclosed here.