How to spot fake emails like "Mercedes-Benz Lottery" scam email
Written by Tomas Meskauskas on
What kind of scam is "Mercedes-Benz Lottery"?
After reviewing the email, we have determined that it is a fraudulent lottery scam. It falsely purports to be from the Mercedes-Benz company. The scammers behind it aim to deceive recipients into revealing personal information and potentially sending money. Recipients should not respond to this scam email and should delete it.
More about the "Mercedes-Benz Lottery" scam email
The recipients of this message are informed that their email addresses have been selected as winners in the Mercedes Benz International Online Lottery Draw 2023 promotion. They have each won a brand new Mercedes Benz C300 4Matic 2023 and a grand prize of $1,500,000 USD.
To claim the prize, the recipients are instructed to contact the Fiduciary Claim Agent, Mrs. Mureen Robert, via the provided email address (robertmureen842@gmail.com). They are also asked to provide their email address, home address, phone number, occupation, and office address.
Recipients of scam emails like this one should be aware that scammers use lottery scams to trick individuals into providing personal information and (or) paying "administration", "shipping", or other fees. Unfortunately, those who fall for such scams never receive any prizes. They lose money or encounter other issues, such as identity theft.
| Name | Mercedes-Benz Lottery Email Scam |
| Threat Type | Phishing, Scam, Social Engineering, Fraud |
| Fake Claim | The recipient has won a brand new Mercedes and $1,500,000 USD. |
| Disguise | Letter from the Mercedes-Benz company. |
| 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. |
Similar scam emails in general
Emails of this kind usually appear to be letters from legitimate companies, organizations, other entities, or real people. Scammers behind them try to extract money or sensitive information (e.g., credit card details, ID card information, social security numbers, etc.).
Examples of similar emails are "Help My Daughter Email Scam", "Abandoned Funds Email Scam", and "People's Postcode Lottery Email Scam". It is important to know that cybercriminals can use emails to trick users into infecting computers.
How do spam campaigns infect computers?
Users infect computers by opening malicious attachments or clicking on links within emails that contain malware or lead to websites that deliver malware. These attachments or links usually are disguised as legitimate documents, images, or other common file types.
Typically, threat actors use malicious MS Office, PDF documents, executables, archives, ISO files, JavaScript files, or other files to trick users into infecting computers.
How to avoid installation of malware?
To protect a computer from malware, exercise caution when opening attachments or clicking on links in emails, particularly if they come from unknown or suspicious sources. Download programs from official pages and stores. Avoid clicking on advertisements and links on shady websites. Keep the operating system and installed software updated, and use reputable antivirus software.
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 "Mercedes-Benz Lottery" email letter:
Subject: CONGRATULATIONS!YOUR DRAW CODE HAS BEEN SUBMITTED.
Online Lottery Draw Reference Claim Code: (W70902039).
CONGRATULATION!
Dear Email Owner:
We happily announced that your E-mail Address has been selected among the winners of the Mercedes Benz International Online Lottery Draw 2023 promo. You are now a winner of a brand new "Mercedes Benz c300 4matic 2023" and the grand prize of $1,500,000.00 USD.For easy claim of your winnings prize, you are simply advice to contact our Fiduciary Claim Agent Mrs. Mureen Robert ( robertmureen842@gmail.com ) with the below details as stated.
NAME:
CONTACT EMAIL ADDRESS:
HOME ADDRESS:
PHONE NUMBER:
OCCUPATIONS:
OFFICE ADDRESS:
All necessary information on what to do in receiving your winnings will be treated by our claim agent once contacted by you and Contact her by providing her with your Mercedes Benz Online Lottery Draw Reference Claim Code:(W70902039) As the subject of your email for swift response.
NB : If you received this message in your SPAM/BULK folder, that is because of the restrictions implemented by your Internet Service Provider, we (MERCEDES GROUP) urge you to treat it genuinely. Delivery fee is mandatory and at your cost in claiming your win.
Signed
Mercedes-Benz USA, LLC ©2023
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Quick menu:
- What is Mercedes-Benz Lottery lottery scam?
- 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?
Scam emails are not personalized. Scammers send the same message to multiple recipients hoping that someone will be deceived by it.
I have provided my personal information when tricked by this email, what should I do?
If you have disclosed any login information, change your passwords immediately. If you have shared any additional personal information, like credit card information or ID details, reach out to the appropriate authorities as soon as possible.
I have downloaded and opened a file attached to this email, is my computer infected?
If the file was executable, then it is likely that your system has been infected. However, if it was a document file such as .pdf or .doc, then there is a chance that your system has not been affected, as in some cases, simply opening the document is not enough for malware to spread on the system.
I have read the email but did not open the attachment, is my computer infected?
No, simply opening an email is not harmful.
Will Combo Cleaner remove malware infections that were present in email attachment?
Yes, Combo Cleaner is capable of detecting and removing most known malware. However, it is important to note that advanced malware often hides deep within the system, so it is recommended to perform a full system scan to ensure all malware is detected and eliminated.
Outstanding!
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