Avoid having your email account stolen via "Voice Note" phishing email

What kind of email is "Voice Note"?

We determined that the "Voice Note" spam email is used for phishing. It attempts to lure recipients into opening an attachment requesting a sign-in with their email accounts.

"Voice Note" email scam overview

The spam email's subject – "VoiceNote Transcription Message on January 19,2023" (may vary) implies that the recipient has a new message, and the contents of the letter merely repeat this.

The aim of this mail is to lure the recipient into opening the attached HTML file – "E-Invoice.htm" (filename may vary). This file requests the user to sign in using their email account (i.e., email address and corresponding password). It is a phishing attachment that records entered information and sends it to the scammers.

In addition to stealing the exposed mail accounts, the cyber criminals can gain access/control over content registered through them.

For example, scammers can steal the identities of social account owners (e.g., emails, social networking, social media, messengers, etc.) and use them to ask the contacts for loans/donations, promote scams, or proliferate malware by sharing malicious files/links. And finance-related accounts (e.g., online banking, e-commerce, money transferring, digital wallets, etc.) can be used to make unauthorized transactions and/or online purchases.

In summary, by trusting an email like "Voice Note" – users can experience system infections, severe privacy issues, financial losses, and identity theft.

If you have already provided your log-in credentials – change the passwords of all potentially exposed accounts and inform their official support without delay.

Threat Summary:

Name	"Voice Note" phishing email
Threat Type	Phishing, Scam, Social Engineering, Fraud
Fake Claim	Recipient has a new "VoiceNote" message.
Attachment(s)	E-Invoice.htm (filename may vary)
Detection Names (attachment)	ESET-NOD32 (HTML/Phishing.Agent.DHE), Fortinet (HTML/Phish.DHE!tr), Full List Of Detections (VirusTotal)
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.

Phishing spam campaign examples

We have inspected thousands of spam emails; "Jeff Bezos Charity Project", "Mercedes-Benz Lottery", "Order Information", "Mail Delivery Failed", and "Validate Your Wallet" are merely some examples of our latest phishing letter finds.

This mail is used to facilitate various scams and even proliferate malware (e.g., trojans, ransomware, etc.). These letters can be disguised as "official", "important", or otherwise "priority" mail. Due to how prevalent spam mail is – we highly recommend exercising caution with incoming emails and other messages.

How do spam campaigns infect computers?

Spam emails can contain malicious files as attachments or download links. These files can be in various formats, e.g., Microsoft Office and PDF documents, archives (RAR, ZIP, etc.), executables (.exe, .run, etc.), JavaScript, and so on.

When such a file is executed, run, or otherwise opened – the infection chain (i.e., malware download/installation) is jumpstarted. For example, Microsoft Office documents infect systems by executing malicious macro commands.

How to avoid installation of malware?

We highly recommend being careful with incoming emails and messages. The attachments and links found in suspicious/irrelevant mail – must not be opened, as they can be malicious and cause infections. It is essential to use Microsoft Office versions released after 2010, as they have the "Protected View" mode that prevents automatic macro execution.

However, malware is spread using various methods. Therefore, we advise downloading only from official and verified channels. It is crucial to activate and update software using functions/tools provided by legitimate developers, as illegal activation tools ("cracks") and fake updaters can contain malicious programs.

Another recommendation is to exercise caution when browsing since fake and dangerous online content usually appears harmless.

We must stress the importance of having a dependable anti-virus installed and kept updated. This 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 "Voice Note" spam email letter:

Subject: VoiceNote Transcription Message on January 19,2023

October NEW VOICE NOTE Dear -,

Screenshot of the phishing attachmet promoted by the "Voice Note" spam campaign ("E-Invoice.htm"):

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▼ 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 "Voice Note" phishing 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, and thousands of users receive identical letters.

I have provided my personal information when tricked by this spam email, what should I do?

If you have disclosed your log-in credentials – immediately change the passwords of all potentially exposed accounts and inform their official support. And if you've provided other private data (e.g., ID card details, credit card numbers, etc.) – contact the corresponding authorities.

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

No, merely opening/reading an email will not initiate any malware download/installation processes. Devices are infected when malicious attachments/links found in spam mail are opened/clicked.

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

If the opened file was an executable (.exe, .run, etc.) – most likely, yes – the device was infected. However, if it was a document (.doc, .xls, etc.) – you might have avoided triggering an infection chain. These formats may need additional user interactions (e.g., enabling macro commands) to begin downloading/installing malware.

Will Combo Cleaner remove malware infections present in email attachments?

Yes, Combo Cleaner is capable of detecting and eliminating nearly all known malware infections. It must be noted that running a complete system scan is essential – since high-end malicious software usually hides deep within systems.

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