How to avoid installation of TrickBot via Black Lives Matter malspam

What is "Black Lives Matter Email virus"?

Typically, cyber criminals behind malspam campaigns such as this attempt to trick recipients into opening a malicious file, which is attached to the email or can be downloaded through an included website link. When executed, the file infects computers with malware. This particular malspam campaign is used to distribute an information-stealing Trojan called TrickBot.

Cyber criminals behind this malspam campaign send emails asking to express an opinion about a Black Lives Matter campaign by voting through the attached file. The file attached to this email is a malicious Microsoft Office document. When opened, it asks permission to enable editing/enable content.

If allowed, it runs macros commands that download and execute a malicious DLL file, which then installs TrickBot. This malware steals sensitive information and is capable of spreading itself further (installing itself on other computers). It steals sensitive data by hijacking browsers and modifying opened websites.

When victims enter login credentials on modified websites, their credentials are sent to a remote server that is controlled by cyber criminals. This feature allows cyber criminals to steal cryptocurrency wallets, PayPal, email, banking, and other accounts that can be misused to make fraudulent purchases and transactions, infect other computers with malware, etc.

Furthermore, TrickBot is capable of stealing passwords, autofill data, history, cookies and other browsing data from WinSCP, Microsoft Outlook, Filezilla, Mozilla Firefox, Google Chrome, Microsoft Edge, and Internet Explorer.

Some newer versions of this malware are capable of stealing PIN codes (from users of Verizon Wireless, T-Mobile, and Sprint services) and performing other tasks. In any case, this is a powerful Trojan which can be the reason behind monetary loss, identity theft, problems relating to online privacy, browsing safety, and other serious issues.

Therefore, you should avoid all such malspam campaigns.

Threat Summary:

Name	Black Lives Matter spam
Threat Type	Trojan, password-stealing virus, banking malware, spyware.
Hoax	Cyber criminals disguise this malspam campaign as an email related to voting in a Black Lives Matter campaign.
Attachment(s)	e-vote_form_3438.doc, e-vote_form_8748.doc (their names might vary).
Detection Names	BitDefender (VB:Trojan.VBA.Agent.BFO), Emsisoft (VB:Trojan.VBA.Agent.BFO (B)), Kaspersky (HEUR:Trojan.MSOffice.Shellex.gen), Microsoft (Trojan:O97M/Obfuse.JM!MTB), 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	TrickBot
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.

More examples of malspam campaigns (spam campaigns used to distribute malware) include "Credit Card Refund Email Virus", "AKHIL Healthcare Email Virus" and the "SARS eFiling Email Virus".

Typically, recipients infect computers when they download and execute the attached file, or a file of this kind that they have downloaded through the included website link. Some examples of other malware that could be distributed via email/spam campaigns areEmotet, AsyncRAT, ZLoader and LokiBot.

How did "Black Lives Matter Email virus" infect my computer?

TrickBot is installed on computers through this spam campaign when recipients open a malicious Microsoft Office document and allow it to run macro commands by enabling editing/content.

Some examples of other files that cyber criminals often use to spread malware are malicious PDF documents, other MS documents (like Excel), executable files (.exe), archive files (RAR, ZIP), and JavaScript files. Typically, these malicious files infect computers only if they are opened/executed.

Note that malicious documents opened with Microsoft Office versions released before 2010 infect systems automatically (they do not demand permission to run macros commands), since those versions do not include "Protected View" mode.

How to avoid installation of malware

Installed programs must be updated and/or activated only through implemented tools or functions that are provided by official software developers. Other (third party), unofficial tools should never be used, as they often install malware. Furthermore, it is illegal to activate licensed software with unofficial ('cracking) tools.

Do not open email contents unless your are sure it is safe to do so. This mostly applies to irrelevant emails that contain attachments/web links and are received from unknown, suspicious addresses. Furthermore, all software should be downloaded only from official pages and via direct links.

Unofficial pages, third party downloaders, installers, Peer-to-Peer networks (e.g., torrent clients, eMule) and other channels of this type are used to distribute malware. Regularly scan the operating system for threats with reputable antivirus or anti-spyware software.

If you have already opened a "Black Lives Matter Email virus" attachment, we recommend running a scan with Combo Cleaner Antivirus for Windows to automatically eliminate infiltrated malware.

Text presented in the "Black Lives Matter Email virus" email message:

Subject: Vote anonymous about "Black Lives Matter"

 

Leave a review confidentially about "Black Lives Matter"
Claim in attached file

Malicious attachment distributed via "Black Lives Matter Email virus" spam campaign:

Another example of malicious MS Office document distributed through this malspam campaign:

Screenshot of yet another Black Lives Matter-themed spam email used to spread the TrickBot Trojan:

Text presented within:

Subject: Tell your government your opinion anonymous about "Black Lives Matter"

 

Vote nameless about "Whose Lives Matter"
Assertion in attached file

Five examples of text presented in other spam emails from "Black Lives Matter" campaign:

Subject: Give YOUR Feedback anonymous about "Black Lives Matter"

 

Give your opinion anon about "Whose Lives Matter"
Assertion included

 

Attachment: e-vote_form_1324.doc

 

------------------------------------

 

Subject: Leave a review nameless about "Black Lives Matter"

 

Let us know your opinion nameless about "Whose Lives Matter"
Claim in attached file

 

Attachment: e-vote_form_32411.doc

 

------------------------------------

 

Subject: Speak out confidentially about "Whose Lives Matter"

 

Speak out confidentially about "Whose Lives Matter"
Contention included

 

Attachment: e-vote_form_41429.doc

 

------------------------------------

 

Subject: Tell your government your opinion nameless about "Whose Lives Matter"

 

Tell your government your opinion anonymous about "Black Lives Matter"
Form in attached file

 

Attachment: e-vote_form_83110.doc

 

------------------------------------

 

Subject: Vote anonymous about "Black Lives Matter"

 

Vote anonymous about "Black Lives Matter"
Statement included

 

Attachment: e-vote_form_9017.doc

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Quick menu:

• What is Black Lives Matter 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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