Avoid malware infections spread via "ShenZhen A&E" spam emails

What kind of email is "ShenZhen A&E"?

After analyzing the "ShenZhen A&E" email, our research team determined that it is spam intended to infect recipients' devices with malware.

This letter claims that a massive sum has been transferred to the recipient's bank account and requests them to consult the attached payment slip. Once opened, the attachment triggers the download/installation of NanoCore RAT (Remote Access Trojan).

"ShenZhen A&E" email virus overview

The email with the subject "Payment SWIFT Transfer (MT101) 070FT04162180001" (may vary) informs recipients that over twelve thousand USD have been transferred to their bank account. The fake transaction is supposedly the 30% deposit of a payment. The scam email requests recipients to review the attached payment slip and send a confirmation afterward. The letter also mentions that there is a 25 USD fee attached to the bank transaction.

As mentioned in the introduction, all of the information provided by this spam "ShenZhen A&E" email - is false. The sole aim is to trick recipients into opening the attachment, which is designed to infect systems with NanoCore. This malicious program is classified as a RAT. It operates by enabling remote access/control over infected machines. More information on it can be found in our article on the NanoCore RAT.

To summarize, by trusting the "ShenZhen A&E" scam email, users can experience system infections, severe privacy issues, financial losses, and even identity theft.

Threat Summary:

Name	ShenZhen A&E spam email
Threat Type	Trojan, password-stealing virus, banking malware, spyware.
Fake Claim	30% of a payment (12,103.33 USD) has been transferred to the recipient's bank account.
Detection Names (attachment)	Avast (Win32:PWSX-gen [Trj]), Combo Cleaner (Trojan.GenericKD.50047411), ESET-NOD32 (A Variant Of MSIL/TrojanDownloader.Age), Kaspersky (HEUR:Trojan-Downloader.MSIL.Seraph.g), Microsoft (Trojan:MSIL/AgentTesla.RV!MTB), Full List Of Detections (VirusTotal)
Payload	NanoCore
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.
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.

Malspam campaign examples

We have analyzed countless spam emails; "QUOTE YOUR BEST PRICE", "FITS Email Virus", "DPD Lietuva Email Virus", "We Receive Another Bank Information", and "DMCA Copyright Infringement Notification Email Virus" are just some examples of those used to spread malware.

In addition to distributing malicious software, these letters are also used for phishing and various other scams. Due to the prevalence of spam mail, we strongly advise exercising caution with incoming emails and messages.

How do spam campaigns infect computers?

Spam emails infect systems through the malicious files they distribute. They can be attachments, or the letters can contain download links of such files. Infectious 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. Once a malicious file is opened - the infection process is jumpstarted.

For example, an MS Office document opened in pre-2010 Microsoft Office versions - immediately executes malicious macro commands, thus initiating malware download/installation. Later versions have "Protected View" mode that prevents this; instead, users can only enable macros (i.e., editing/content) manually. It is noteworthy that virulent documents often contain messages designed to trick users into allowing macro commands.

How to avoid installation of malware?

Incoming mail must be approached with care. The attachments and links present in suspicious/irrelevant emails and messages - must not be opened, as they can contain malware.

However, malicious programs are not spread exclusively via spam mail. Therefore, we also advise downloading only from official and verified channels. Another recommendation is activating and updating software with tools provided by legitimate developers, as those from third-parties may cause system infections.

We must emphasize the importance of having a reputable anti-virus installed and kept updated. Security programs must be used to run regular system scans and to remove detected threats/issues. 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 "ShenZhen A&E" spam email letter:

Subject: Payment SWIFT Transfer (MT101) 070FT04162180001

Dear Sir,

Good Afternoon

We have transferred USD 12,103.33 to your bank account as per our 30% deposit of the attached invoice.
Kindly find the attached payment slip as we made the the transfer today 1st April 2022 your earliest confirmation will be very much appreciated, If you have any question don't fail to contact us on,

PLEASE NOTE:
The short payment of USD 25 is as a result of the bank charge on the TT

Best regards
Evelyne
ShenZhen A&E Tradsing Co.,Ltd
Kennie - Accounting Department
Tel: 0086-755-82145787
Fax: 0086-755-82145792
Email:  account@ae-first.com
hxxp://www.ae-first.com

Screenshot of VirusTotal detections of the malicious attachment distributed via "ShenZhen A&E" spam 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 ShenZhen A&E spam email?
• 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.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Why did I receive this email?

Spam emails are not personal. Cyber criminals distribute them by the thousand with the hopes that at least some of the recipients will fall for their scams. Hence, thousands of users receive the same spam letter.

I have read a spam email but didn't open the attachment, is my computer infected?

No, reading a spam email will not trigger any malware download/installation processes. System infections are initiated when the attachments or links contained in these letters are opened/clicked.

I have downloaded and opened a file attached to a spam email, is my computer infected?

Whether an infection was triggered may depend on the file's format. If the opened file was an executable - most likely, yes - your device was infected. However, document files (.doc, .xls, .pdf, etc.) may require additional use interaction (i.e., enabling macro commands) - to start downloading/installing malicious software.

Will Combo Cleaner remove malware infections present in email attachments?

Yes, Combo Cleaner is designed to detect threats, and it can eliminate nearly all known malware infections. However, it must be stressed that high-end malicious programs usually hide deep within systems. Therefore, performing a full system scan is essential.

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