Electronic Intuit Email Virus

What is Electronic Intuit Email Virus?

"Electronic Intuit Email Virus" is an email spam campaign used to distribute the Zeus Panda (and in some cases, TrickBot) trojan. 

Cyber criminals send thousands of deceptive emails stating that recipients must pay a type of bill/invoice. These emails are also delivered with an attached MS Office document, which is presented as the bills/invoices. Be aware, however, that these attachments are malicious - once opened, they stealthily inject the system with the Zeus Panda or TrickBot trojan.

The "Electronic Intuit Email Virus" emails state that users have not paid various bills and encourages them to open attachments for detailed information. Furthermore, cyber criminals hide behind the names of legitimate companies (in this case, Intuit). Criminals register various domains/email addresses by including names of legitimate companies.

They do this, since it is much simpler to trick people into opening attachments received from names that seem familiar. Zeus Panda is an extremely high-risk trojan that gathers various financial information.

This malware hijacks web browsers and collects information (logins/passwords, credit card numbers, personal details, etc.) from bank websites, online shops, and other finance-related websites. TrickBot is also designed to gather similar data by also hijacking the web browsers (you can read more here).

This information can be misused to generate revenue (via online purchases, money transfers, etc.) Therefore, the presence of trojans such as Zeus Panda, TrickBot, and similar can lead to significant financial loss and even identity theft.

If you have opened any attachment distributed via the "Electronic Intuit Email Virus" spam campaign, you should immediately scan the system with a legitimate anti-virus/anti-spyware suite and eliminate all detected threats.

Threat Summary:

Name	Electronic Intuit spam
Threat Type	Trojan, Password stealing virus, Banking malware, Spyware
Symptoms	Trojans are designed to stealthily infiltrate victim's computer and remain silent thus no particular symptoms are clearly visible on an infected machine.
Distribution methods	Infected email attachments, malicious online advertisements, social engineering, software cracks.
Damage	Stolen banking information, passwords, identity theft, victim's computer added to a botnet.
Malware Removal (Windows)	To eliminate possible malware infections, scan your computer with legitimate antivirus software. Our security researchers recommend using Combo Cleaner. ▼ Download Combo Cleaner To use full-featured product, you have to purchase a license for Combo Cleaner. 7 days free trial available. Combo Cleaner is owned and operated by Rcs Lt, the parent company of PCRisk.com read more.

There are many trojans similar to Zeus Panda and TrickBot. The list of example includes (but it is not limited to) Adwind, FormBook, Pony, Emotet, and LokiBot.

Most are also distributed using email spam campaigns and their behavior is also similar. Some trojans are designed to inject the system with other viruses (in most cases, ransomware). In any case, all poses a direct threat to your privacy and Internet browsing safety.

How did Electronic Intuit Email Virus infect my computer?

"Electronic Intuit Email Virus" proliferates malicious MS Office documents. After opening these files, users are asked to enable macro commands. Once macros are enabled, attachments execute scripts that stealthily download and install malware. Note, however, that this will only work if files are opened using MS Office tools.

Therefore, if the file is opened using other programs capable of reading MS Office formats, the macros will not be opened. Furthermore, trojans target the Microsoft Windows Operating System only and, thus, users of other platforms are safe.

How to avoid installation of malware?

Poor knowledge and careless behavior are the main reasons for computer infections. The key to safety is caution. Therefore, pay close attention when browsing the Internet. Think twice before opening email attachments. If the file seems irrelevant or has been received from a suspicious/unrecognizable email address, it should not be opened.

In addition, 2010 and newer versions of MS Office open newly-downloaded documents in "Protected View" mode, thus preventing execution of malicious commands. We strongly advise you to avoid using old versions of this suite. Be aware that, in some cases, trojans are distributed using fake updaters and third party download/installation tools.

Therefore, it is important to update software using implemented features or tools provided by the official developer only. In addition, we strongly advise you to download your programs from official sources only, using direct download links. Having a reputable anti-virus/anti-spyware suite installed and running is also paramount.

If you have already opened a "Electronic Intuit Email Virus" attachment, we recommend running a scan with Combo Cleaner Antivirus for Windows to automatically eliminate infiltrated malware.

Text presented in the "Electronic Intuit Email Virus" email letter:

Subject: Electronic Intuit Notification
Greetings, This bill notification is mailed to you by Intuit Invoice Services from Weitman Weinberg & Reis Co. Click the link above to view the invoice.
#1687 Payment Due Date DUE BALANCE $3.550.00


Subject: Unpaid invoice

Intuit
Unpaid Invoice
Our records indicate that payment on your account is overdue in the amount of $23,389,41 if the amount has already been paid, please disregard this notice. For your convenience, a copy of your invoice have been attached below, please save it for future reference.
If you have any query regarding your account or disagree that this invoice is overdue, please email accounts@intuit.com Note that if we do not hear from your or receive the payment in the nearest future, your account will be suspended.

Sincerely,
Account Department
Gary Terry
Level 3 Officer, Intuit
Email: Gary.Terry@intuit.com
Tel. 713 912 9921

Screenshot of "Electronic Intuit Email Virus" malware process in Windows Task Manager:

Sample of "Electronic Intuit Email Virus" campaign that distributes TrickBot:

Example of the Intuit company-themed scam email which promotes "muvitomatic[.]com" phishing site:

Text presented within:

Here's a copy your invoice! We appreciate your prompt payment.

Thanks for your business!

INVOICE 0526
DUE 05/21/2020
$1,030.00
Print or save
Powered by QuickBooks
If you receive an email that seems fraudulent, please check with the business owner before paying.

© Intuit, Inc. All rights reserved.Privacy | Security | Terms of Service

Example of yet another Intuit company-themed spam email which spreads a malicious MS Excel document as an attachment:

Text presented within:

Subject: Invoice  216283

Your invoice is attached. Please remit payment at your earliest convenience.

Thanks for your business!

INVOICE 216283
DUE 06/01/2020
$1,590.00
Print or save
Powered by QuickBooks
If you receive an email that seems fraudulent, please check with the business owner before paying.

© Intuit, Inc. All rights reserved.Privacy | Security | Terms of Service

Screenshot of the malicious attachment ("Invoice_216283_.xlsm"):

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▼ DOWNLOAD Combo Cleaner By downloading any software listed on this website you agree to our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use. To use full-featured product, you have to purchase a license for Combo Cleaner. 7 days free trial available. Combo Cleaner is owned and operated by Rcs Lt, the parent company of PCRisk.com read more.

Quick menu:

• What is Electronic Intuit spam?
• Types of malicious emails.
• How to spot a malicious email?
• What to do if you fell for an email scam?

Types of malicious emails:

Phishing Emails

Most commonly, cybercriminals use deceptive emails to trick Internet users into giving away their sensitive private information, for example, login information for various online services, email accounts, or online banking information.

Such attacks are called phishing. In a phishing attack, cybercriminals usually send an email message with some popular service logo (for example, Microsoft, DHL, Amazon, Netflix), create urgency (wrong shipping address, expired password, etc.), and place a link which they hope their potential victims will click on.

After clicking the link presented in such email message, victims are redirected to a fake website that looks identical or extremely similar to the original one. Victims are then asked to enter their password, credit card details, or some other information that gets stolen by cybercriminals.

Emails with Malicious Attachments

Another popular attack vector is email spam with malicious attachments that infect users' computers with malware. Malicious attachments usually carry trojans that are capable of stealing passwords, banking information, and other sensitive information.

In such attacks, cybercriminals' main goal is to trick their potential victims into opening an infected email attachment. To achieve this goal, email messages usually talk about recently received invoices, faxes, or voice messages.

If a potential victim falls for the lure and opens the attachment, their computers get infected, and cybercriminals can collect a lot of sensitive information.

While it's a more complicated method to steal personal information (spam filters and antivirus programs usually detect such attempts), if successful, cybercriminals can get a much wider array of data and can collect information for a long period of time.

Sextortion Emails

This is a type of phishing. In this case, users receive an email claiming that a cybercriminal could access the webcam of the potential victim and has a video recording of one's masturbation.

To get rid of the video, victims are asked to pay a ransom (usually using Bitcoin or another cryptocurrency). Nevertheless, all of these claims are false - users who receive such emails should ignore and delete them.

How to spot a malicious email?

While cyber criminals try to make their lure emails look trustworthy, here are some things that you should look for when trying to spot a phishing email:

• Check the sender's ("from") email address: Hover your mouse over the "from" address and check if it's legitimate. For example, if you received an email from Microsoft, be sure to check if the email address is @microsoft.com and not something suspicious like @m1crosoft.com, @microsfot.com, @account-security-noreply.com, etc.
• Check for generic greetings: If the greeting in the email is "Dear user", "Dear @youremail.com", "Dear valued customer", this should raise suspiciousness. Most commonly, companies call you by your name. Lack of this information could signal a phishing attempt.
• Check the links in the email: Hover your mouse over the link presented in the email, if the link that appears seems suspicious, don't click it. For example, if you received an email from Microsoft and the link in the email shows that it will go to firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0... you shouldn't trust it. It's best not to click any links in the emails but to visit the company website that sent you the email in the first place.
• Don't blindly trust email attachments: Most commonly, legitimate companies will ask you to log in to their website and to view any documents there; if you received an email with an attachment, it's a good idea to scan it with an antivirus application. Infected email attachments are a common attack vector used by cybercriminals.

To minimise the risk of opening phishing and malicious emails we recommend using Combo Cleaner Antivirus for Windows. 

Example of a spam email:

What to do if you fell for an email scam?

• If you clicked on a link in a phishing email and entered your password - be sure to change your password as soon as possible. Usually, cybercriminals collect stolen credentials and then sell them to other groups that use them for malicious purposes. If you change your password in a timely manner, there's a chance that criminals won't have enough time to do any damage.
• If you entered your credit card information - contact your bank as soon as possible and explain the situation. There's a good chance that you will need to cancel your compromised credit card and get a new one.
• If you see any signs of identity theft - you should immediately contact the Federal Trade Commission. This institution will collect information about your situation and create a personal recovery plan.
• If you opened a malicious attachment - your computer is probably infected, you should scan it with a reputable antivirus application. For this purpose, we recommend using Combo Cleaner Antivirus for Windows.
• Help other Internet users - report phishing emails to Anti-Phishing Working Group, FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center, National Fraud Information Center and U.S. Department of Justice.

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