How to spot malicious emails like the fake letter from Ergife hotel
Written by Tomas Meskauskas on
What is "ERGIFE" email virus?
Our team has examined this email and concluded that it is a fake letter from Ergife Palace Hotel (an existing hotel in Rome). All text in this letter is written in Italian. Cybercriminals behind it attempt to trick users into believing that they have received a quote request. Their goal is to lure recipients into executing Agent Tesla (executing a file in the attachment).
"ERGIFE" malspam campaign in detail
Threat actors behind this malspam campaign claim that the file attached to an email is a document containing a request for quotation. We have inspected the attachment (an archive file named "Preventivo-22612.r00") and learned that it contains an executable file. That file is designed to plant a remote administration tool called Agent Tesla on computers.
Agent Tesla can log keystrokes - it can record keyboard input. This feature allows cybercriminals to steal any information typed with the keyboard, including passwords, credit card details, and other sensitive information. Also, Agent Tesla can steal information from web browsers, email and messaging clients, FTP clients, and more.
| Name | ERGIFE malspam campaign |
| Threat Type | Trojan, password-stealing virus, banking malware, spyware. |
| Hoax | A file attached to an email contains a request for quotation |
| Attachment(s) | Preventivo-22612.r00 (its name may vary) |
| Detection Names (Attachment) | Avast (Win32:PWSX-gen [Trj]), Combo Cleaner (Trojan.GenericKD.50155771), ESET-NOD32 (A Variant Of MSIL/Kryptik.AEVR), Kaspersky (HEUR:Trojan-Spy.MSIL.Noon.gen), Microsoft (Trojan:MSIL/AgentTesla.EQJ!MTB), 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 |
| 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. |
Emails used to deliver malware in general
As a rule, cybercriminals behind malspam campaigns pretend to be legitimate companies, organizations, or other entities. Their goal is to trick recipients into opening a malicious file (email attachment or a file downloaded via a presented link).
More examples of emails containing malware are "DHL Express - Called But Got No Answer Email Virus", "ShenZhen A&E Email Virus", and "STC Email Virus".
How did "ERGIFE email virus" infect my computer?
The file attached to this email (named "Preventivo-22612.r00", but its name may vary) is an archive file. It contains an executable file. Agent Tesla infects computers after executing the file within the attachment. It is important to know that cybercriminals can use other files (like Microsoft Office, PDF documents, JavaScript files, etc.) too.
How to avoid installation of malware?
Do not open email attachments and website links in irrelevant emails sent from suspicious, unknown addresses. Remember that most emails containing malware look like official/important letters. Also, always use official pages and direct links as sources for downloading files and programs.
Activate and update the operating system and installed software with tools provided by the official developers. Keep a computer protected with reliable antivirus software. If you've already opened "ERGIFE email virus" attachment, we recommend running a scan with Combo Cleaner Antivirus for Windows to automatically eliminate infiltrated malware.
Text presented in the "ERGIFE" email letter:
Subject: LGFORMA SRL: richiesta preventivo
Buongiorno
Fucciamo seguito alla richiesta ed alleghiamo il preventivo
Cordiali saluti
Maria Tomassi
Ufficio commerciale
ERGIFE PALACE HOTELERGIFE****
Hotel & Conference Center
Maria Tomassi | Congress Department
Via Aurelia, 619 | Fax + 39 06 6632689
Tel + 39 06 6644808 | Fax + 39 06 6632689
Email: congress@ergifepalacehotel.com
Web: www.ergifepalacehotel.com
Malicious attachment distributed via "ERGIFE" email detected as malicious by multiple security vendors:
Instant automatic malware removal:
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Quick menu:
- What is ERGIFE malspam campaign?
- 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?
Threat actors/scammers send the same email to all addresses. Their emails are not personal. Typically, they obtain email addresses after data breaches.
I have downloaded and opened a file attached to this email, is my computer infected?
No, opening an archive file attached to this email does not infect a computer. However, opening an executable within that archive does.
I have read the email but didn't open the attachment, is my computer infected?
No, opening an email by itself is completely harmless. Malicious files attached to emails cannot infect computers as well unless they are opened.
Will Combo Cleaner remove malware infections that were present in email attachment?
Yes, Combo Cleaner can detect almost all known malware and remove it. High-end malware usually hides deep in the system. Thus, computers infected with it must be scanned using a full scan option.
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