How to avoid installation of IceID via deceptive Spring Company emails

What is "Spring Company invoice"?

There are many cases whereby cyber criminals trick people into installing malware onto their computers through spam campaigns. They attempt to deceive them by sending emails that contain a malicious attachment or website link. Their main goal is to trick recipients into executing the malicious file, which then installs rogue software.

In this case, they send emails that contain an attachment designed to install IceID, a Trojan which is used to steal sensitive information.

This email is disguised as an invoice from the Spring Company indicating the products, quantities, and agreed prices for them. It states that more details can be found in the attached file. A ZIP file is attached to this email which contains a malicious Microsoft Office document.

When opened, the document asks permission to Enable Content. If allowed, it starts installation of the aforementioned malware named IceID. This malicious software often tricks victims into entering login credentials on deceptive websites, which mimic legitimate, official sites.

It does this by maintaining the connection with the original website and displaying the original URL and SSL certificate. When victims enter their login credentials, those credentials are immediately saved to a Command & Control (C&C) server controlled by cyber criminals behind IceID.

Additionally, this malware controls the entire session and uses social engineering techniques to trick victims into disclosing transaction confirmation (authorization) details.

This gives cyber criminals full access to victims' bank accounts. Furthermore, IceID is capable of performing various tasks such as, for example, downloading and executing files, writing, reading and deleting registry keys, deleting files, gathering credentials of various email services, and executing commands.

In summary, recipients who have IceID installed on their computers might become victims of identity theft, suffer monetary, data loss, and experience problems relating to online privacy, browsing safety, have their computers infected with other malware and other serious issues.

Therefore, you are strongly advised not to extract the attached file or open the malicious MS Office document.

Threat Summary:

Name	Spring Company Invoice spam
Threat Type	Trojan, password-stealing virus, banking malware, spyware.
Hoax	This email is disguised as an invoice from Spring Company.
Attachment(s)	ord_428.zip (its name might vary).
Detection Names (ord_482.doc)	Avast (VBA:Downloader-EUY [Trj]), BitDefender (Trojan.GenericKDZ.67310), ESET-NOD32 (A Variant Of VBA/TrojanDropper.Agent.BES), Kaspersky (HEUR:Trojan-Dropper.MSOffice.SDrop.gen), Full List Of Detections (VirusTotal).
Symptoms	Trojans are designed to stealthily infiltrate the victim's computer and remain silent, and thus no particular symptoms are clearly visible on an infected machine.
Payload	IceID
Distribution methods	Infected email attachments, malicious online advertisements, social engineering, software 'cracks'.
Damage	Stolen passwords and banking information, identity theft, the 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 is are many spam campaigns that cyber criminals deploy to deceive recipients into infecting their computers with malware. Some examples are "Office Depot Email Virus", "Polícia de Segurança Pública Email Virus" and "U.S Department Of Labor Email Virus".

Files attached to such emails (or files that can be downloaded through included links) are designed to install ransomware, Trojans or other high-risk malware, which help cyber criminals to generate revenue in various ways.

How did "Spring Company invoice" infect my computer?

IceID can infect computers only when recipients allow the malicious MS Office document, which is extracted from the attached archive file (ZIP), to enable content. Therefore, you should leave the document unopened.

Some examples of other files that cyber criminals use to distribute malware by attaching them to their emails include PDF documents, JavaScript files, other archive files (RAR), executable files (.exe).

Note that when malicious MS Office documents are opened with Microsoft Office versions developed before 2010, they infect computers without asking permission to enable editing/content (macros commands), since those versions do not include "Protected View" mode.

How to avoid installation of malware

Links and attachments in irrelevant emails should not be trusted or opened, especially if the emails are received from unknown, suspicious addresses. Do not open email contents without being sure that it is safe to do so. Software should be downloaded only from official websites and through direct links.

Third party downloaders (and installers), free file hosting pages, unofficial pages, Peer-to-Peer networks (torrent clients, eMule),etc., should not be trusted. Update and activate installed programs only through implemented functions or tools designed by official software developers.

Third party activation ('cracking'), updating tools often infect operating systems with malware. Furthermore, it is illegal to activate licensed software with unofficial tools. Scan your computer regularly for viruses with reputable and up-to-date antivirus or anti-spyware software.

If you have already opened "Spring Company invoice" attachment, we recommend running a scan with Combo Cleaner Antivirus for Windows to automatically eliminate infiltrated malware.

Text presented in the "Spring Company invoice" email message:

Subject: Copy of: Office #2277258

 

Invoice 9917151

 

Thank you for your business. For all details view the invoice from Spring Company for $1590.50 that is attached.

 

Regards

 

311 Trail str.
Denver, CO 87687

 

(303)437-0718

 

Items Qty Price Amount
White Widget 2 800.00$ 1600.00$
Total 1600.00$
Total Due 1590.50
Due Date 05/27/2020

 

Copyright 2019
rights reserved

Malicious attachment distributed via "Spring Company invoice" spam campaign:

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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 Spring Company Invoice 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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