Avoid getting scammed by the "New documents assigned" phishing emails

What is "New documents assigned Email Scam"?

"New documents assigned Email Scam" refers to a phishing spam campaign. These letters make false claims that users have received several documents. The goal of the deceptive emails is to promote a phishing website. Pages of this type are designed to record the information entered into them.

"New documents assigned Email Scam" in detail

The scam letters (subject "1 New Notification"; may vary) inform recipients that they have received six documents via a cloud storage service. When users attempt to retrieve the fake files, they enter a phishing webpage.

Phishing scams are designed to collect sensitive information. They primarily target personally identifiable data and online account log-in credentials (i.e., usernames/passwords).

This information can be sold to third-parties, used to create personalized scams, or otherwise employed to generate revenue. For example, communication platforms (e.g., emails, social networking, etc.) can be used to ask contacts for loans or to proliferate malware. Finance-related accounts (e.g., online banking, e-commerce, digital wallets, etc.) can be employed to make fraudulent transactions and/or online purchases.

In summary, phishing scams can lead to severe privacy issues, financial losses, and identity theft. If attempts to sign in through phishing sites have already been made, it is crucial to change the log-in credential of all potentially compromised accounts. Additionally, it is recommended to contact the official support of the endangered accounts.

Threat Summary:

Name	New documents assigned Email Scam
Threat Type	Phishing, Scam, Social Engineering, Fraud
Fake Claim	Scam emails claim that users have been sent several documents.
Symptoms	Unauthorized online purchases, changed online account passwords, identity theft, illegal access of the computer.
Distribution methods	Deceptive emails, rogue online pop-up ads, search engine poisoning techniques, misspelled domains.
Damage	Loss of sensitive private information, monetary loss, identity theft.
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.

Spam campaigns in general

"Payment completed on behalf of my boss", "BANCO BPM email scam", "E-mail Blacklist scam" - are a few examples of phishing spam campaigns. Aside from scams, these emails are also used to spread malware (e.g., trojans, ransomware, etc.). Due to the prevalence of spam mail, it is advised to exercise caution with incoming emails.

How do spam campaigns infect computers?

Spam emails proliferate malware through infectious files attached to and/or linked inside them. These files can be in various formats, e.g., archives (ZIP, RAR, etc.), executables (.exe, .run, etc.), Microsoft Office and PDF documents, JavaScript, and so on. When the files are opened - the infection chain is initiated.

For example, Microsoft Office documents infect systems by executing malicious macro commands. This process begins the moment a document is opened in Microsoft Office versions released before 2010. This is prevented by the "Protected View" mode in newer versions, and users can manually enable macros (i.e., editing/content).

How to avoid installation of malware?

Suspicious and irrelevant emails must not be opened, especially any attachments or links found in them. It is recommended to use Microsoft Office versions released after 2010.

Malware is also spread via dubious download channels (e.g., unofficial and freeware websites, Peer-to-Peer sharing networks, etc.), illegal activation tools ("cracks"), and fake updates. It is advised to download only from official/verified sources and use tools provided by genuine developers to activate/update programs.

Furthermore, it is paramount to have a dependable anti-virus installed and updated. This software has to be used to run regular system scans and to remove threats. If you've already opened malicious attachments, we recommend running a scan with Combo Cleaner Antivirus for Windows to automatically eliminate infiltrated malware.

Text presented in the "New documents assigned" scam email letter:

Subject: 1 New Notification

 

Dear User

 

6 New documents assigned to '******** ' are available on ******** CLOUD

 

click here to retrieve document(s) now

 

Powered by
********  CLOUD SERVICES

Unfortunately, this email is an automated notification, which is unable to receive replies.

Another example of document assignment-themed spam promoting a phishing site:

Text presented within:

Subject: ******** Have New Urgent Notification From Email's Cloud!!

 

Dear -,

A reminder that 25 New classified informations/documents assigned to '******** ' are available on ******** CLOUD

waiting retrieval or it would be automatically deleted from CLOUD

click here to retrieve Classified Information/document(s) now

Powered by
-  CLOUD SERVICES
Unfortunately, this email is an automated notification, which is unable to receive replies.

Screenshot of the promoted phishing site:

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Quick menu:

• What is New Documents Assigned 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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