Do not trust "Credit Card Refund" deceptive emails
Written by Tomas Meskauskas on (updated)
What is the "Credit Card Refund" email virus?
"Credit Card Refund" is a spam campaign designed to proliferate Dridex banking malware. These scam emails are presented as purchase/payment refunds. The attached Excel spreadsheet supposedly contains important information concerning this fake refund. Once opened, however, this malicious file starts the infection process (i.e. download/installation of Dridex malware).
The emails entitled "Credit Card Refund #145327" (subject name might vary) are presented as rather vague refund notifications. The body of the message lists the date, refund and check numbers, specifies the payment method as via website, items and description codes (the item itself is not described in any other than the number), refund amount and tax details reference code.
The supposed refund is $2,697.53 USD, which is a significant sum and it used to lure recipients into opening the attached file. Additionally, the emails state that this sum will be transferred to the credit card used for the original purchase. If the attachment is opened and editing is enabled, the infection chain of Dridex malware is initiated.
This malicious program extracts banking information from infected systems. One of this malware's main functionalities is keylogging. Therefore, Dridex can record key strokes. This capability can be used to record online banking account log-in credentials.
Through hijacked banking accounts, cyber criminals can make fraudulent transactions and/or online purchases. In summary, trusting "Credit Card Refund" emails can lead to financial loss and serious privacy issues. If it is known/suspected that Dridex (or other malware) has already infected the system, use anti-virus software to eliminate it immediately.
| Name | Credit Card Refund spam |
| Threat Type | Trojan, password-stealing virus, banking malware, spyware. |
| Hoax | The emails are presented as purchase/payment refunds. |
| Attachment(s) | Payment_information_Refund_145327.xlsm |
| Detection Names | Avast (Other:Malware-gen [Trj]), BitDefender (Trojan.GenericKD.43279389), ESET-NOD32 (PowerShell/TrojanDownloader.Agent.CUG), Kaspersky (HEUR:Trojan.MSOffice.SAgent.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 | Dridex |
| 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. |
Deceptive/Scam emails are distributed via large scale operations called "spam campaigns". "AKHIL Healthcare", "Cuerpo Nacional de Policía", "SARS eFiling" and "Supreme Court" are a few other examples of spam campaigns designed to spread malware.
The messages can have other purposes, such as phishing and other scams. The deceptive emails are typically disguised as "important", "official", "urgent" and similar, and they might even be presented as mail from legitimate institutions/organizations, companies, service providers, and so on.
Regardless of what these messages claim, offer, request or demand, their purpose is identical: to generate revenue for the scammers/cyber criminals behind them.
How did "Credit Card Refund Email Virus" infect my computer?
Many infections are caused though dangerous files, which are sent during spam campaigns. The emails can contain download links to the files and/or include them as attachments. These malicious files can be in various formats such as archives (ZIP, RAR, etc.), executables (.exe, .run, etc.), Microsoft Office and PDF documents, JavaScript, etc.
When the files are executed, run or otherwise opened, the infection chain starts (i.e. download/installation of malware). For example, MS documents infect systems by executing malicious macro commands.
In Microsoft Office versions released before 2010, macros are executed when the document is opened, however, in newer versions, users are asked to enable macro commands (i.e. to enable editing/content), and so download/installation of malicious software is only possible if macros are manually enabled.
How to avoid installation of malware
You are advised against opening suspicious and/or irrelevant emails, especially those received from unknown/suspect senders (addresses). Any attachments or links found in dubious mail must not be opened, as doing so can lead to high-risk infection. Additionally, you are advised to only use Microsoft Office versions released after 2010.
These versions have "Protected View" mode, which prevents macro commands from being automatically executed when the document is opened, however, spam campaigns are not the only way that malware is distributed.
Other popular proliferation methods include via untrusted download channels (e.g. unofficial and free file-hosting websites, Peer-to-Peer sharing networks and third party downloaders), illegal activation ("cracking") tools and fake updaters.
Therefore, it is important to download from official/verified sources, and activate and update programs with tools/functions provided by legitimate developers. To ensure device integrity and user safety, it is crucial to have a reputable anti-virus/anti-spyware suite installed.
Keep this software up to date and use it to run regular system scans and remove detected/potential threats. If you have already opened "Credit Card Refund Email Virus" attachment, we recommend running a scan with Combo Cleaner Antivirus for Windows to automatically eliminate infiltrated malware.
Text presented in the "Credit Card Refund" email message:
Subject: Credit Card Refund #145327
Cash Refund
Date 6/03/2020
Refund # 145327
Payment Method Website Payment
Check # 5000904268
Project
Department
Phone Number
Shipping Method UPS 2nd Day Air®
Credit Card # ****************
Transaction Next Approver
Item Quantity Description Options Rate Amount Gross Amt Tax Amount Tax Details Reference
8248410-70 1 2020 2,697.53 2,697.53 2,697.53 16004620_1
Subtotal 2,697.53
Shipping Cost (UPS 2nd Day Air®) 0.00
Total $2,697.53
********CREDIT WILL BE ISSUED TO YOUR CREDIT CARD USED FOR ORIGINAL PURCHASE*********
Malicious attachment distributed via "Credit Card Refund" spam campaign ("Payment_information_Refund_145327.xlsm"):
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Quick menu:
- What is Credit Card Refund 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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