Do not open the "Spring Marine Management S.A." scam email attachment
Written by Tomas Meskauskas on (updated)
What is the "Spring Marine Management S.A." scam email?
"Spring Marine Management S.A. email virus" refers to a spam campaign designed to spread malware. The term defines a mass-scale operation during which thousands of deceptive emails are sent.
The letters distributed through this campaign - are disguised as product quotation requests from the "Spring Marine Management". This name belongs to a legitimate company, which is no way associated with these scam emails.
Upon opening, the file attached to the letters - initiates download/installation of the Agent Tesla Remote Access Trojan (RAT).
The fake "Spring Marine Management S.A." emails (subject/title "QUOTATION: SAM-S210118A, VENDOR: SUPPLIER"; may vary) request recipients to review the requisition and quote the best prices and availability.
The letters are concluded with confidentiality alerts. Instead of containing the stated information, the attached gzip archive contains a virulent executable file. When the latter is opened - Agent Tesla trojan's infection chain (i.e., download/installation) is jumpstarted.
Remote Access Trojans (RATs) enable remote access and control over an infected device. This malware can have a wide variety of heinous functions.
The primary functionality of Agent Tesla is data theft. This RAT has keylogging abilities, i.e., it can record keystrokes. This malicious program has other features as well, though which - depends on its variant.
To elaborate, Agent Tesla can extract information from various browsers and other installed applications. It targets VPN (Virtual Private Network) and FTP (File Transfer Protocol) clients, emails, messengers, and download managers.
Information of interest includes (but is not limited to): account log-in credentials (i.e., IDs, usernames, and passwords), browsing data (e.g., visited URLs, searched queries, Internet cookies, etc.), Wi-Fi credentials, personally identifiable details, financial information (e.g., credit card numbers), and so on.
Some versions of this malicious program can also disable certain system features to prevent them from being used (e.g., Windows Task Manager, Command Prompt, Control Panel, Windows User Account Controls, etc.).
To summarize, by trusting the "Spring Marine Management S.A." scam emails, users can experience system infections, severe privacy issues, financial losses, and identity theft. If it is known or suspected that Agent Tesla (or other malware) has already infected the system - an anti-virus must be used to remove it without delay.
| Name | Spring Marine Management S.A. spam |
| Threat Type | Trojan, password-stealing virus, banking malware, spyware. |
| Hoax | Scam emails are presented as product quotation requests from Spring Marine Management S.A. |
| Attachment(s) | QUOTATION: SAM-S210118A_XLS.GZ containing QUOTATION: SAM-S210118A_XLS.exe (filenames may vary) |
| Detection Names | Avast (Win32:PWSX-gen [Trj]), BitDefenderTheta (Gen:NN.ZemsilF.34684.8m0@aOqvjYk), ESET-NOD32 (A Variant Of MSIL/Kryptik.AAQT), Fortinet (Malicious_Behavior.SB), Microsoft (Trojan:Win32/AgentTesla!ml), 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 | Agent Tesla |
| Rogue Process Name | DadCam (process name may vary) |
| 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. |
"SALAMA Email Virus", "Romanian Post Email Virus", "Customer Complaint Report", "Socar Email Virus", and "International Air & Sea Freight Forwarder" are some examples of malware-proliferating spam campaigns.
The deceptive emails are usually presented as "urgent", "important", "priority", and similar; they are often disguised as mail from legitimate companies, corporations, institutions, organizations, authorities, and other entities.
These letters are also used for phishing and different scams. Due to the relative prevalence of spam mail, it is strongly advised to exercise caution with incoming emails.
How did "Spring Marine Management S.A. email virus" infect my computer?
Systems are infected via malicious files distributed through spam campaigns. The files can be attached to the emails, and/or the letters can contain download links of such content.
Virulent files can be in various formats, e.g., archives (GZ, RAR, ZIP, etc.), executables (.exe, .run, etc.), PDF and Microsoft Office documents, JavaScript, and so forth. When the files are executed, run, or otherwise opened - the infection process/chain is triggered.
For example, Microsoft Office documents cause infections by executing malicious macro commands. This process starts the moment a document is opened - in Microsoft Office versions released before 2010.
Newer versions have "Protected View" mode that prevents automatic execution of macros. Instead, users are asked to enable editing/content (i.e., macro commands) and warned of the potential risks.
How to avoid installation of malware?
To avoid infecting the system via spam mail, it is advised against opening suspicious and irrelevant emails - especially any attachments or links present in them. It is recommended to use Microsoft Office versions released after 2010.
Aside from spam campaigns, malware is also distributed through dubious download channels (e.g., unofficial and free file-hosting websites, Peer-to-Peer sharing networks, etc.), illegal activation tools ("cracks"), and fake updates.
Therefore, it is important to always download from official and verified sources. Additionally, all programs must be activated and updated with tools/functions provided by legitimate developers.
It is paramount to have a dependable anti-virus/anti-spyware suite installed and updated. This software has to be used to run regular system scans and remove detected threats and issues.
If you've already opened "Spring Marine Management S.A. email virus" attachment, we recommend running a scan with Combo Cleaner Antivirus for Windows to automatically eliminate infiltrated malware.
Text presented in the "Spring Marine Management S.A." scam email letter:
Subject: QUOTATION: SAM-S210118A, VENDOR: SUPPLIER
Dear Sirs,
Please quote with your best prices for the attached requisition and advise availability ex Netherlands.
Best regards,
George Chalaris
Purchasing Department
Spring Marine Management S.A.
(as managers only)
6, Agias Kiriakis Street Paleo Faliro , 17564 Greece
M +30 6977479346
T +30 210 411 7476 Ext : 162 | F +30 210 412 8791
E purchasing@springmarine.com |W www.springmarine.com
Emergency Number +30 214 4000 159
IMPORTANT: The contents of this email and any attachments are confidential. They are intended for the named recipient(s) only. If you have received this email by mistake, please notify the sender immediately and do not disclose the contents to anyone or make copies thereof.
For GDPR purposes: Unless you advise otherwise, we take you give your consent for receiving our emails as a member of this emailing group.
Q Act for the environmental protection. Do not print this mail if it is not essential.
Screenshot of VirusTotal detections of the malicious attachment distributed via "Spring Marine Management S.A." spam campaign ("QUOTATION: SAM-S210118A_XLS.exe" filename):
Screenshot of the malicious executable's process on Windows Task Manager ("DadCam" process name):
Instant automatic malware removal:
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Quick menu:
- What is Spring Marine Management S.A. 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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