Avoid infecting your device via fake Mechatronics Industrial Equipment emails
Written by Tomas Meskauskas on
What kind of email is "Mechatronics Industrial Equipment"?
Our inspection of this "Mechatronics Industrial Equipment" email revealed that it is fake and intended to infect recipients' devices with the Agent Tesla RAT (Remote Access Trojan).
This spam email supposedly relates to a payment. However, this letter is in no way associated with the legitimate Mechatronics Industrial Equipment company or any other real entities.
"Mechatronics Industrial Equipment" email scam overview
The email with the subject "MECHATRONICS PAYMENT INSTRUCTIONS" (may vary) informs the recipient that the payment has been processed. The letter contains two attachments, which upon opening - trigger Agent Tesla RAT's download/installation process.
RATs (Remote Access Trojans) are designed to enable remote access/control over infected devices. Agent Tesla can perform various malicious actions on machines, and it has various information-stealing abilities. For example, this trojan can record keystrokes (keylogging) and extract data from installed apps (browsers, email clients, messengers, VPNs, FTPs, etc.).
To summarize, by trusting these fake "Mechatronics Industrial Equipment" emails - users can experience system infections, serious privacy issues, financial losses, and even identity theft.
If you suspect that your system is infected with Agent Tesla (or other malware), we highly recommend using an anti-virus to remove it without delay.
| Name | Mechatronics Industrial Equipment malspam |
| Threat Type | Trojan, password-stealing virus, banking malware, spyware. |
| Fake Claim | Payment information is attached to the email. |
| Disguise | Message from Mechatronics Industrial Equipment. |
| Detection Names (attachment 1) | Avast (Win32:Trojan-gen), Combo Cleaner (Gen:Variant.Lazy.199350), ESET-NOD32 (MSIL/Spy.AgentTesla.D), Kaspersky (HEUR:Trojan.MSIL.Crypt.gen), Microsoft (Trojan:MSIL/FormBook.EVO!MTB), Full List Of Detections (VirusTotal) |
| Detection Names (attachment 2) | Avast (Win32:PWSX-gen [Trj]), Combo Cleaner (IL:Trojan.MSILMamut.4094), ESET-NOD32 (MSIL/Spy.AgentTesla.D), Kaspersky (HEUR:Backdoor.MSIL.Androm.gen), Microsoft (Trojan:Win32/Tiggre!rfn), Full List Of Detections (VirusTotal) |
| Payload | Agent Tesla |
| 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. |
Malspam campaign examples
We have analyzed countless spam emails; "Pride Mobility Email Virus", "Your Package Has Been Delivered To Your Preferred Safe Place", and "Dynaseiki Industrial Supplies Email Virus" are just a few examples of those designed to proliferate malware.
In addition to spreading trojans, ransomware, and other malicious software, spam letters are also used to facilitate phishing and various scams. Due to how widespread spam mail is, we strongly advise exercising caution with incoming emails and messages.
How do spam campaigns infect computers?
Spam emails can have virulent files attached to and/or linked inside them. These files can be archives, executables, Microsoft Office and PDF documents, JavaScript, etc. When such a file is opened - the infection process is initiated. For example, Microsoft Office documents cause infections by executing malicious macro commands.
How to avoid installation of malware?
We recommend exercising caution with incoming mail. The attachments and links present in suspicious/irrelevant emails and messages - must not be opened since that can lead to a system infection. Furthermore, it is important to use Microsoft Office versions released after 2010, as they have the "Protected View" mode that prevents automatic execution of macros.
Aside from spam mail, malware is also proliferated using other techniques. Therefore, we also advise downloading only from official and verified channels. Additionally, all programs must be activated and updated with tools provided by legitimate developers, since illegal activation ("cracking") tools and fake updaters can contain malware.
It is paramount to have a reputable anti-virus installed and kept updated. Security software must be used to run regular system scans and to remove detected 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 "Mechatronics Industrial Equipment" scam email letter:
Subject: MECHATRONICS PAYMENT INSTRUCTIONS
TFind the payment been processed.
hanks and Best Regards,
Aswanth
Assistant Sales Manager
M: +971 50 4669816 | P: +971 4 267 4311 | F: +971 4 267 4312
Tax Registration No. (TRN) : 100241942000003
Mechatronics Industrial Equipment L.L.C.
P.O. Box 19104, Dubai, U.A.E.
Email : bestim@mechatronics.ae
Website : www.mechatronics.ae
*OUR WEEKLY OFF WILL BE SUNDAY.
Screenshot of VirusTotal detections of one of the malicious attachment distributed via "Mechatronics Industrial Equipment" spam campaign:
Instant automatic malware removal:
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Quick menu:
- What is Mechatronics Industrial Equipment malspam?
- 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 these letters in mass-scale operations - hence, thousands of users receive identical messages.
I have read a spam email but didn't open the attachment, is my computer infected?
No, merely reading a spam email will not initiate any malware download/installation processes. Infections are triggered when the attachments or links present 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 might depend on the opened file's format. If it was an executable (.exe, .run, etc.) - most likely, yes - your system was infected. However, document formats (.doc, .pdf, .xls, etc.) may require additional user interaction (e.g., enabling macro commands) to begin downloading/installing malicious software.
Will Combo Cleaner remove malware infections present in email attachments?
Yes, Combo Cleaner can detect and eliminate practically all known malware infections. It has to be mentioned that running a full system scan is crucial - since sophisticated malicious programs usually hide deep within systems.
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