Avoid infecting your system through fake "EniGaseLuce" emails
Written by Tomas Meskauskas on (updated)
What is the "EniGaseLuce" scam email?
"EniGaseLuce email virus" refers to a spam campaign, spreading the Ursnif trojan. The term "spam campaign" defines a mass-scale operation, during which thousands of deceptive emails are sent. The scam emails distributed through this campaign, claim that recipients have an unpaid bill for the services of "EniGaseLuce".
Eni gas e luce is the name of the Italian gas and electricity provider for homes and businesses. Note that these messages are in no way associated with Eni gas e luce, and all of the information provided by them is false. The purpose of these messages is to trick recipients into opening the infectious file attached to them, which then triggers the infection process (i.e. download/installation of Ursnif).
This malware also steals various sensitive information from compromised systems.
The fake "EniGaseLuce" emails (subject/title "Primo Richiesta di pagamento Parcella 8336", which might vary) are disguised as payment requests from Eni gas e luce. While the name of this company is not present in the body of the messages, they do contain its logo.
According to a rough translation, the emails inform recipients that they have an unpaid bill that needs to be addressed. The messages detail the possible payment methods and claim that the attached document contains the invoice. As mentioned, these emails are fake.
Rather that containing the stated information, the attached file contains Ursnif malware. When this virulent document is opened (specifically, after macro commands are enabled), the infection process of the Trojan is initiated.
The primary purpose of Ursnif is data theft. Following successful infiltration, this malicious program targets system and user data, information relating to browsing activity, log-in credentials (i.e. IDs, usernames and passwords) saved on browsers and other applications, as well as key strokes (keylogging).
Other features of this Trojan include restarting the system, taking screenshots and infiltrating/executing files. The latter is particularly dangerous, as this capability can be used to cause chain infections (i.e. download/install) additional malware. For example, ransomware, cryptominers, and so on.
To summarize, by trusting the "EniGaseLuce" scam emails, users might experience system infections, financial losses, severe privacy issues and even identity theft. If it is suspected or known that the Ursnif trojan (or other malware) has already infected the system, use anti-virus software to remove it immediately.
| Name | EniGaseLuce spam |
| Threat Type | Trojan, password-stealing virus, banking malware, spyware. |
| Hoax | Scam emails claim recipients have an unpaid bill |
| Disguise | Eni gas e luce |
| Attachment(s) | pagat_7704553.doc (filename may vary) |
| Detection Names | BitDefender (VB:Trojan.Valyria.3412), AegisLab (Trojan.MSWord.Generic.4!c), McAfee-GW-Edition (BehavesLike.Downloader.cc), Tencent (Heur.MSWord.Downloader.d), 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 | Ursnif |
| 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. |
"Universal Medical Equipment", "Findomestic Email Virus", "Request For Payment" and "MSC Email Virus" are some examples of other malware-proliferating spam campaigns. The deceptive emails are usually presented as "official", "important", "urgent", "priority" or similar.
As well as spreading malicious software, spam campaigns also used for phishing and various other scams. Due to the relative prevalence of such mail, always exercise caution with incoming emails.
How did "EniGaseLuce email virus" infect my computer?
Systems are infected via malicious files distributed through spam campaigns. These files can be attached and/or linked inside the emails. Infectious files can be in various formats (e.g. Microsoft Office and PDF documents, archive and executable files, JavaScript, etc.).
When these files are executed, run or otherwise opened, the infection process (i.e. malware download/installation) is triggered. For example, Microsoft Office documents (e.g. "Invoice_24077.xlsb") cause infections by executing malicious macro commands.
In Microsoft Office versions released prior to 2010, malware download/installation begins when an infectious document is opened, however, newer versions have "Protected View" mode that prevents automatic execution of macros. Instead, users are asked to enable macro commands (i.e., to enable editing/content) and hence infection processes can only be started by manually enabling macros.
How to avoid installation of malware?
To avoid malware spread via spam mail, you are strongly advised against opening suspicious or irrelevant emails, especially those with any attachments or links present within them.
Additionally, use Microsoft Office versions released after 2010. Malicious programs also proliferate through untrusted download channels (e.g. unofficial and free file-hosting sites, Peer-to-Peer sharing networks and other third party downloaders), illegal software activation ("cracking") tools, and fake updaters.
Therefore, only download from official/verified sources and activate and update software with tools/functions provided by legitimate developers.
To ensure device integrity and user privacy, have a reputable anti-virus/anti-spyware suite installed and kept updated. Furthermore, use these programs to run regular system scans and to remove detected/potential threats.
If you have already opened a "EniGaseLuce Email Virus" attachment, we recommend running a scan with Combo Cleaner Antivirus for Windows to automatically eliminate infiltrated malware.
Text presented in the "EniGaseLuce" scam email message:
Subject: Primo Richiesta di pagamento Parcella 8336
Gentile cliente, da un accertamento contabile ci risulta che la fattura
numero 8296778
del 14/10/2020 scaduta il 12/11/2020 , alla data odierna non risulta ancora da Voi saldata.
Vi richiediamo pertanto di regolarizzare al più presto la vostra
posizione contabile , ricordandovi a tal proposito che, il suddetto pagamento può essere
disposto tramite bonifico bancario utilizzando l'IBAN indicato in
Fattura oppure , a mezzo assegno bancario o circolare.
Potrà prendere visione della Fattura e gli estremi per il pagamento mediante il archivio in allegato.
Vi ringraziamo per l'attenzione e vi porgiamo cordiali saluti.
Malicious attachment distributed via "EniGaseLuce" spam campaign ("pagat_7704553.doc"):
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Quick menu:
- What is EniGaseLuce 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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