Avoid installation of the "Dridex via FedEx Invoice Ready" malspam campaign

What is the FedEx Invoice Ready email virus?

Malspam campaigns are usually disguised as official messages from legitimate companies and organizations, and contain an attachment or website link designed to download a malicious file. The main aim of cyber criminals behind such emails is to deceive the recipient into executing a file that infects the computer with a malicious program.

This malspam campaign is disguised as a message from FedEx and is used to distribute malicious software called Dridex.

This email is disguised as a message regarding an invoice from FedEx. It contains a malicious Microsoft Excel document which installs Dridex. Note that these documents infect computers only if users enable editing/content (macros commands).

This does not apply to documents that are opened with MS Office versions that were released before Microsoft Office 2010, which enable macros automatically. Dridex (also known as Bugat and Cridex) is capable of logging keystrokes (recording keys pressed on the keyboard).

In this way, it functions as a 'keylogger'. Generally, cyber criminals use malware of this type to steal sensitive information (such as login credentials, credit card details), which can be used to steal identities and personal accounts, make fraudulent purchases and transactions, and for other malicious purposes.

Additionally, Dridex can execute inject code into specific software programs to modify their behavior. For these, reasons you are strongly advised not to open or execute files attached to emails such as this, or files that are available through links within them.

Threat Summary:

Name	FedEx Invoice Ready spam
Threat Type	Trojan, password-stealing virus, banking malware, spyware.
Hoax	Invoice from FedEx.
Attachment(s)	Malicious MS Excel document.
Detection Names	Arcabit (VBA.Heur2.Dridex.5.59B19505.Gen), BitDefender (VBA.Heur2.Dridex.5.59B19505.Gen), ESET-NOD32 (VBA/TrojanDownloader.Agent.UJW), Kaspersky (HEUR:Trojan.Script.Generic), 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. ▼ 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.

Some examples of other malspam campaigns used to distribute various malware are "PO Copy Email Virus", "Atlas Home Products Email Virus" and "Talkline Communications Email Virus". Examples of malware that is distributed in this way (via email) are Agent Tesla, Adwind, TrickBot and Ursnif.

How did "FedEx Invoice Ready Email Virus" infect my computer?

In this case, Dridex gains permission to be installed if recipients open the attached Microsoft Excel document and enable macro commands (editing/content). As mentioned, malicious documents that are opened with versions older than MS Office 2010 infect systems automatically, since these versions do not include "Protected View" mode.

Some examples of other files that cyber criminals attach to their emails when distributing malware are JavaScript files, executable files (.exe), archive files such as ZIP, RAR, PDF documents or other MS Office documents (like MS Word).

How to avoid installation of malware

Emails that are received from unknown, suspicious addresses, are irrelevant, and contain an attachment or website link, should never be trusted. Commonly, these emails are disguised as messages from legitimate companies. In fact, they are sent by cyber criminals who attempt to distribute malicious software.

Files or programs should not be downloaded or installed through third party downloaders, installers, unofficial websites, Peer-to-Peer networks (torrent clients, eMule) or other sources/tools of this kind. Commonly, these channels are used to distribute malware.

The safest way to download files and programs is to use official websites and direct links. Installed software must be activated and updated with tools or functions that are provided by the official developers. Third party, unofficial tools should never be used. Furthermore, it is illegal to activate licensed software with unofficial ('cracking') tools.

Keep computers safe by regularly scanning them for threats with a reputable antivirus or anti-spyware suite, which should be kept up to date. If you have already opened "FedEx Invoice Ready Email Virus" attachment, we recommend running a scan with Combo Cleaner Antivirus for Windows to automatically eliminate infiltrated malware.

Appearance of the FedEx Invoice Ready malspam email:

Text presented in the FedEx Invoice Ready malspam email:

Subject: FedEx Billing - Invoice Ready for Payment

 

You have a FedEx invoice ready for payment.
Your invoice is ready for payment

 

New invoices are ready for payment

 

Invoice number:    Invoice amount:
5-039-11718    160.86
FedEx® Billing Online to review and pay your invoices.

 

Thank you for your business,
FedEx
Note: Please do not use this email to submit payment. This email may not be used as a remittance notice.

 

©2020 FedEx.The content of this message is protected by copyright and trademark laws under U.S. and international law.

 

Review our privacy policy. All rights reserved.

 

This message has been sent by an auto responder system. Please do not reply to this message.

 

ID ENS- 5791

Malicious attachment distributed via FedEx Invoice Ready malspam campaign:

Instant automatic malware removal: Manual threat removal might be a lengthy and complicated process that requires advanced IT skills. Combo Cleaner is a professional automatic malware removal tool that is recommended to get rid of malware. Download it by clicking the button below:
▼ 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 FedEx Invoice Ready 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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