How to spot fake emails like "Fund Transfer Assistance" scam email

What kind of scam is "Fund Transfer Assistance"?

Our team has reviewed this letter and determined that it is a scam. The goal of this scam email is to deceive recipients into sending money and (or) providing sensitive information to the scammers. It is strongly advised not to respond to this letter (and always ignore emails of this type).

More about the "Fund Transfer Assistance" scam email

This letter appears to be from a woman named Mrs. Janet E George, a widow, who is seeking help with transferring a large sum of money her late husband had deposited in a bank. Her late husband had a personal oil firm in Bentiu Oil zone town and Upper Nile city and had dealt with the Federal Government of Sudan.

However, her life is now in danger due to the civil Ethnic crises in Sudan caused by the President and the rebel leader. She is currently taking refuge in a refugee camp in Côte d'Ivoire. She explains that the rebels are targeting the families of oil businessmen in the country, accusing them of milking the country dry.

Fearing for her safety, Mrs. George is seeking a partnership with the recipient to transfer and invest the sum of £10,500,000, which her late husband deposited. She explains that her life is no longer safe in Sudan, and she needs to transfer the money to a secure place.

She requests the recipient's help in transferring the money to their bank account and offers to provide more information on how to contact the bank where the money is currently deposited.

Typically, such letters are used to extract money or information. For instance, scammers request to pay some fake administration or other fees, or they claim that an advance payment is required to receive the full amount. Either way, people who fall for such scams never receive any money.

Threat Summary:

Name	Fund Transfer Assistance Email Scam
Threat Type	Phishing, Scam, Social Engineering, Fraud
Fake Claim	Recipients can receive a large sum of money for helping a widow
Disguise	Letter from a woman named Janet George
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.

Similar scam emails in general

It is common for scam emails to be disguised as important/official/urgent or other kinds of letters from real people or legitimate entities. In most cases, scammers send them to trick recipients into providing credit card details, ID card information, social security numbers, or other details or sending money.

Examples of scam emails are "Thank You For Shopping With Apple", "PayPal Account Has Been Charged", and "Investment Into Building Homes For Orphans". Cybercriminals also use emails to trick recipients into infecting their computers.

How do spam campaigns infect computers?

Threat actors behind emails used to deliver malware attempt to lure recipients into infecting their computers by including malicious links or attachments in emails. Computer infections are caused when recipients download and execute malware by themselves.

Files that cybercriminals use to distribute malware are malicious MS Office documents, PDF files, JavaScript files, ISO files, executables, archive files, and other files. Simply opening a malicious file does not always leads to a computer infection. For instance, malicious MS Office documents infect computers after enabling macros commands.

How to avoid installation of malware?

Avoid opening files and links received from unknown email addresses, especially when emails appear to be irrelevant. Before opening any email content, it is essential to carefully inspect the email. Also, download programs and files from reliable sources such as official pages and stores. Do not click ads on suspicious pages.

Keep all software (including the operating system) updated. Using reputable antivirus software and regularly running system scans is also recommended. 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 "Fund Transfer Assistance" email letter:

Subject: Greetings my dear pls pay attention

--
Greetings my dear

I am writing to you based on trust. My name is Mrs.Janet E George, My
late husband deals in Crude Oil with the Federal Government of Sudan
and we have a personal Oil firm in Bentiu Oil zone town and Upper Nile
city.

What I have experience physically, I don't wish to experience it again
in my life due to the recent civil Ethnic crises caused by our
President Mr. Salva Kiir and the rebel leader Dr. Riek Machar, I'm in
a refugee camp in Côte d'Ivoire to save my life.

I want to solicit for your partnership with trust to transfer and
invest the sum of (Ten million Five Hundred Thousand British Pounds
Sterling) deposited by my late husband to your country, because my
life is no longer safe in our country, since the rebels are looking
for the families of all the oil business men in the country to kill,
saying that they are the people that is milking the country dry.

Let me know if you are willing and capable of assisting us in getting
this fund transferred to your bank account so that I can give you more
information on how to get in contact with the bank where my late
husband deposited this fund when he was alive.

With love from

Mrs.Janet E George

Another example of fund transfer assistance-themed spam email:

Text presented within:

Subject: I will be waiting to hear from you,

 

Dear Friend,

With due respect to your person and much sincerity of purpose, I make
this contact with you as I believe that you can be of great assistance
to me. My name is Mr.Hamzak Wadrago, from Ouagadougou Republic of
BURKINA FASO, West Africa . Presently i work in the African
development Bank as telex manager. I have been searching for your
contact since you left our country some years ago.

I do not know whether this is your correct email address or not
because I only used your name initials to search for your contact .In
case you are not the person I am supposed to contact, please see this
as a confidential message and do not reveal it to another person but
if you are not the intended receiver, do let me know whether you can
be of assistance regarding my proposal below because it is top secret.

I am about to retire from active Bank service to start a new life but
I am aseptically to reveal this particular secret to a stranger. You
must assure me that everything will be handled confidentially because
we are not going to suffer again in life.

It has been 10 years now that most of the greedy African Politicians
used our bank to launder money overseas through the help of their
Political advisers. Most of the funds which they transferred out of
the shores of Africa were gold and oil money that was supposed to have
been used to develop the continent. Their Political advisers always
inflated the amounts before transfer to foreign accounts so I also
used the opportunity to divert part of the funds hence I am aware that
there is no official trace of how much was transferred as all the
accounts used for such transfers were being closed after transfer.

I acted as the Bank Officer to most of the politicians and when I
discovered that they were using me to succeed in their greedy act; I
also cleaned some of their banking records from the Bank files and no
one cared to ask me because the money was too much for them to
control. They laundered over $5b Dollars during the process .As I am
sending this message to you, I was able to divert thirty five million
united state dollars ($35m) to an escrow account belonging to no one
in the bank. The bank is anxious now to know who the beneficiary to
the funds is because they have made a lot of profits with the funds.

It is more than Eight years now and most of the politicians are no
longer using our bank to transfer funds overseas. The ($35) Million
Dollars has been laying waste but I don't want to retire from the bank
without transferring the funds to a foreign account to enable me share
the proceeds with the receiver. The money will be shared 60% for me
and 40% for you..

There is no one coming to ask you about the funds because I secured
everything. I only want you to assist me by providing a bank account
where the funds can be transferred. You are not to face any
difficulties or legal implications as I am going to handle the
transfer personally. If you are capable of receiving the funds, do let
me know immediately to enable me give you a detailed information on
what to do.

For me, I have not stolen the money from anyone because the other
people that took the whole money did not face any problems. This is my
chance also to grab my own but you must keep the details of the funds
secret to avoid any leakages as no one in the bank knows about the
funds.

Please get back to me if you are interested and capable to handle this
project I shall intimate you on what to do when I hear from your
confirmation and acceptance. If you are capable of being my trusted
associate, do declare your consent to me.

Waiting for your urgent response.

Yours Faithfully,

Mr.Hamzak Wadrago

Another example of fund transfer assistance-themed spam email:

Text presented within:

Subject: ATTN: Confidant,
 

I am contacting you after making official enquiries at the foreign trade office of the Chambers of Commerce here in Johannesburg, South Africa. I haven’t disclosed the nature of my intention to anyone due to the sensitive and confidential nature of the project involved which is my need for assistance in profiling some investment funds and transfer of said funds to your country.

I must plead for your confidence and confidentiality and if it so happens that you are unable to assist in this projects I would crave your indulgence and ask that you do not divulge this to any other third party and ignore this email. I am constrained to issue more details about this mutually beneficial financial project until I get your positive response by email.

The fund in question $40,000,000.00 (Forty Million USD) accrued from over-inflated contract executed by foreign contractors through our connections and the over invoiced amount is waiting to be remitted from a commercial bank here in South Africa. By virtue of my position as a senior civil servant I cannot acquire this money in my name due to the fact that I am bound by the Civil Service Code of Ethics which bars me from operating bank accounts outside of our shores. On the other hand it is not safe to keep the funds here due to security reasons; hence my need to source for an overseas silent partner to facilitate the transfer of these funds for our mutual benefit.

My proposal is that after you receive the funds, it would be shared as follows: 40% to you as commission for your co-operation and assistance in facilitating the transfer, while the remaining 60% belongs to me. You will be free to take out your commission immediately after the money is credited to your account in your country. Since our objective is to invest the money in a foreign country, it would be appreciated if you could also help us with advice and direction on investing into profitable ventures in your country.

What we need to do is give you an approval from the ministry and you will email the approval to the paying bank to facilitate the processing and transfer of the contract funds into any of your nominated bank accounts. If you are interested and capable, I request you forward your personal details to my private email address (siyabongaakhumalo@gmail.com) to enable me contact you for further discussion. I would also request that you send me your most confidential phone number for further communication too.

Respectfully,

Mr. Siyabonga Khumalo
Program Implementation Committee.

Yet another example of fund transfer assistance-themed spam email:

Text presented within:

Subject: Greetings: From Sandrina Omaru

 

Greetings: From Sandrina Omaru
Abidjan. Cote dIvoire,
West Africa .

Hello Dearest,

I deep it a respect and humble submission, I beg to state the
following few lines for your kind consideration, I hope you will spare
some of your valuable minutes to read the following appeal with
sympathetic mind. I must confess that it is with great hopes, joy and
enthusiasm that I write you this email which I know and believe by
faith that it must surely find you in good condition of health.

My name is Sandrina Omaru; I am the only child of my late parents
Chief. Mr. Williams Omaru. My father was a highly reputable business
magnet who operated in the capital of Ivory Coast during his days.

It is sad to say that he passed away mysteriously in France during one
of his business trips abroad Though his sudden death was linked or
rather suspected to have been masterminded by an uncle of mine who
travelled with him at that time. But God knows the truth! My mother
died when I was just 6yrs old, and since then my father took me so
special.

Before the death of my father, he called me and informed me that he
has the sum of Three Million, Six Hundred thousand
Euro.(€3,600,000.00) he deposited in a private Bank here in Abidjan
Cote D'Ivoire.. He told me that he deposited the money in my name, and
also gave me all the necessary legal documents regarding to this
deposit with the Bank,

I am just 22 years old and a university undergraduate and really don't
know what to do. Now I want an honest and GOD fearing partner overseas
who I can transfer this money with his assistance and after the
transaction I will come and reside permanently in your country till
such a time that it will be convenient for me to return back home if I
so desire. This is because I have suffered a lot of set backs as a
result of incessant political crisis here in Ivory coast.

The death of my father actually brought sorrow to my life. I also want
to invest the fund under your care because I am ignorant of business
world. I am in a sincere desire of your humble assistance in these
regards.Your suggestions and ideas will be highly regarded.

Please, consider this and get back to me as soon as possible.
Immediately I confirm your willingness, I will send to you my Picture
and also inform you more details involved in this matter.

Kind Regards,

Sandrina Omaru.

Yet another example of an email from the "Fund Transfer Assistance" spam campaign:

Text presented within:

Subject: MY SUBJECT/ INVESTMENT PORTFOLIO

 

Dear Sir/ Madam     

I, got your Email contact from the South Africa Exchange Information On-line Service on my personal programmed search on the internet for a reputable company or individual to assist me sincerely & confident that your information & profiles were very satisfactory and I decided to contact you immediately.        

It is my great pleasure to write you this letter. Within Eskom Holdings Limited where I work as a Director of Audit and Project Implementation, I have in my possession an overdue payment in US currency.        

The said funds represent a certain percentage of the total contract value executed on behalf of my department by a foreign contracting firm, which I the official over-invoiced to the amount of US$350,000, 000.00 (Three hundred and fifty Million United States Dollar only).

Though the actual contract cost has been paid to the original contractor leaving the excess balance unclaimed. Since the present elected Government is determined to pay foreign contractors all debts owed, so as to maintain good relationships with foreign governments and non-government agencies, we included our bills for approvals with the Department of Finance and the South Africa Reserve Bank (SARB).        

I am seeking your assistance to front as beneficiary of the unclaimed funds, since I am not allowed to operate foreign accounts, Details and change of beneficiary information upon application for claim to reflect payment and approvals will be secured on behalf of you/your Company. I have to propose that should you be willing to assist me in this transaction your share as compensation will be (30%), (5%) is for expenses and the balance of (65%) will be for me and my colleagues.

The business is completely safe and secure, provided you treat it with Utmost confidentiality. It does not matter whether you/your Company does contract projects, as a transfer of powers will be secured in favour of you/your Company. Also, your area of specialization is not a hindrance to the successful execution of this transaction.  

I have reposed my confidence in you and hope that you will not disappoint me.        

Thanks for your co-operation.   
    
Regards,    

Thabiso Nzimande     
Eskom Holdings SOC Limited
South Africa.

Another example of Fund Transfer Assistance-themed spam email:

Text presented within:

Subject: Please Confirm Now

Dear Friend,
 
It is my pleasure to contact you, having seen your contact from a reliable source. Please this transaction should be kept confidential because of the gravity of the transaction. We all know the past crises of Libya, the stories about late President Muammar Gadaffi and his family. How they looted the Libyans treasury and hid funds in various countries.
 I am an attorney to Moatassem-Billah Gaddafi the late son of Gadaffi.He mandated me to deposit the sum of Thirty Five Million US Dollars ($35,000,000.00) with a Security Company which will be disclosed to you as you indicate interest. The Gold/fund is in cash, packaged and sealed in 2 trunk boxes. Now that the war is over and Moatassem-Billah Gaddafi is dead, there is no member of Gaddafi`s family that knows about the fund.I want to use your contact to move out the fund to your country for investment.
 All I need is your total compliance and I will do my best to make sure that the transaction is done successfully. I am a good international lawyer, I am capable of providing every documentation and defense to back up the fund. Any good lawyer is subject to strict standards of professional responsibility. These standards are set forth in codes of conduct and Privileges, ethics, rules of professional conduct that are established by state bar associations. Although the rules vary from state to state, Nations to Nations. But as a lawyer we will not have any problem.
 
For us to proceed, I will need your full names, address and phone numbers. When I receive it, I will submit your particulars to the security Company where the trunk was deposited. They will then make arrangements to have the trunks delivered to you in the given address. When the trunk arrives, I will give you a code number to open the trunk to have access to the cash. For you to assist me, you will be entitled to 35% of the total money and we will set 5% for the expenses incurred in the course of this transaction while 60% will be for me, I will then come over to meet with you for sharing according to the proposed percentage for you. If you agree with my proposition, you can write to enable  us to proceed.
Thanks.
Awaiting Response.
Barrister Anis Rahman Watts

Another example of an email from "Fund Transfer Assistance" spam campaign:

Text presented within:

Subject: Payment of $10,200,000.00 USD.

 

Good Day Dear,
 
Compliment of the day. My name is Miss. Anna Chanda. I am 21 years of Age and an Orphan. I got your contact email on the Internet while searching for a trusted personality I can confide in. I am writing to seek your kind assistance to stand as my foreign trustee and retrieve $10,200,000.00 USD ( Ten Million Two Hundred Thousand United States Dollars ) which I inherited from my late parents.
 
Before the Death of My Late Father. He deposited the above stated amount with one of the Leading Bank in South Africa and with my name as the next of kin, but with a clause that I must get to the Age of 30 before the Bank could allow me access to the funds or I provide a foreign trustee who could lead me with the investment of the funds outside Africa.
 
I am therefore soliciting for your kind and matured assistance to receive the transfer of these funds into your account and also help me to secure the necessary documents that will permit me to fly over to your Country and further up my Education, while you manage the investment of the funds under a written agreement.
 
I want you to return this email only if you are really willing to assist me with all your heart, so that I can give you more details.    contact me with this email   (miss-annachanda@naver.com)
 
NOTE: I also would like us to have a video  conversation via whatsapp or Skype only if you are willing to assist me as my foreign trustee, until then I am waiting urgently for your kind response as I hope to rely on you.
 
Regards,
Miss. Anna Chanda.

Another example of an email from "Fund Transfer Assistance" spam campaign:

Text presented within:

Subject: Investment Assistance

 

Attn: -,

I am Mr. Collins Muzorewa, with due respect, trust and humility, I write you this proposal which I believe will be of great interest to you. It is understandable that you might be a little bit apprehensive because you do not know me; I found your contact while I was doing a private research on the internet for a reliable and capable foreign partner that will assist me and my family to invest my inheritance funds in your country.

After the death of my father Mr. Abel T. Muzorewa, I decided to move out of Zimbabwe, before the death of my father, he deposits the sum of US$18.2M (Eighteen Million Two Hundred Thousand United State Dollars) in one of the private security company, as if he foresaw his death. This money was deposited in a box as gemstones to avoid much demurrage from the Security Company. This amount was meant for the purchase of new machines and chemicals for his farms and the establishment of a new farm in Swaziland.

So if you consider this proposal, I will give you 25% of the total sum for helping us to move this money out of South Africa and 75% will be for me and my family for investment in your country.

Finally, as soon as you have indicated your interest and capability to handle this transaction then I will detail you the modality. Please contact me directly on my email id; collinsmuzorewa@gmail.com or Whatsapp me +27 60 308 7608

Best Regards,

Mr.Collins Muzorewa
Whatsapp me +27 60 308 7608

Yet another example of an email from "Fund Transfer Assistance" spam campaign:

Text presented within:

Subject: From: Yao K. CNVT

 

Hello, Good Morning
 
With trust that you are keeping well today !
 
Let me briefly introduce myself for better understanding, I am Yao Kwabena, a financial consultant writing to you from the Republic of Ghana. I am compelled to initiate this communication with you due to the urgency of the matter at hand. A well known minister in one of the African countries who is undergoing financial queries by the Authority over alleged mismanagement of contract funds worth over five billion dollars has contacted me to help him move transit funds amounting to US$ 76 Million
dollars.
 
He has advised that the funds be moved from its present position to a reliable hand and be used for any lucrative investment abroad and therefore I am contacting you based on the information I already gave to him that I have a reliable hand in your country to handle the investment funds but the person I had in mind
unknown to me passed away due to Covid-19 complication as I was reliably informed.
 
Therefore I am contacting you to know if you are able to handle this matter by receiving and investing the funds under a 60/40 sharing ratio of the capital and the investment annual returns. Therefore should you be ready to move on with the said transaction kindly provide me your personal telephone/WhatsApp number for further discussion on the way forward.
 
Regards
Yao Kwabena

Another example of an email from "Fund Transfer Assistance" spam campaign:

Text presented within:

Subject: PROJECT: From: Dr. Emmanuel Ibe Kachikwu (GMD) Nnpc Towers Garki, Abuja TM 09

 

Nnpc Towers, Central Business District, Herbert Macaulay way, P.m.b. 190, Garki, Abuja.

From: Dr. Emmanuel Ibe Kachikwu (GMD)
Contract Ref No: NNPC/PED/1462/KADREF/92)

Attn: Ceo

I know that this proposal may come to you as a surprise especially having to come from someone you have not meet before I got your information from your country chamber of commerce here in Nigeria.

My name is Dr. Emmanuel Ibe Kachikwu, The Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC). Be informed that my partner Dr. Maikanti Baru and I awarded a contract to a foreign firm (Sheng Yang Contraction Company) with contract Ref No: NNPC/PED/1462/KADREF/92) for the maintenance of the Nigeria petroleum-chemical complex located at Kaduna, Nigeria.

I know that this proposal may come to you as a surprise especially having to come from someone you have not met before, but I would like you to co-operate with me so that this U$D98, 000,000.00 will be released and transferred into your account, it is mine profound intention to contact you for this very important and highly confidential transaction for the transfer of (U$D98, 000,000.00 Ninety-Eight Million United States Dollars Only into your bank account.

The contract has been successfully executed by the contractors and their contract sum have been paid to them, leaving us overestimated balance of (U$D98, 000,000.00 Ninety-Eight Million United States Dollars Only) still pending at the bank. Right now, we are left with this overestimated balance of (U$D98, 000,000.00) which is still floating at the escrow account in the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) waiting for final payment to any reliable foreign bank account, you may provide.

We, as government officials, are not permitted to own or operate foreign bank account. therefore, we need reliable person who will provide us with a foreign account where to transfer and deposit this US$98,000,000.00, that is the reason we are soliciting for your sincere assistance to provide us with an account where to transfer this money .all modalities for the easy transfer of this money is now in place, the period of this transaction is only two weeks from the day we receive your bank account details.

Note that 50% of our share will be invested in your country, as we propose to give you 30% of the U$D98, 000,000.00, my partners and I will get 60% of the money.

The balance of 10% will be allocated to cover all expenses incurred by both partners, be informed that this proposal is urgent and confidential, please send to me your bank account details and full address of company name and address, your private phone and fax number for easy communication which will be used in securing all the necessary documents for easy transfer of the fund.

Awaiting your urgent response.

Best regards.

Dr. Emmanuel Ibe Kachikwu.
The Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC)

Yet another email from "Fund Transfer Assistance" spam campaign:

Text presented within:

Subject: Confirm receipt.

--
Good day.

Let me be brief with my introduction to you.

My name is Elisabeth De Nolf lawyer and solicitor.

My client, a recently overthrown President of Gabon in a Coup d'Etat wishes to partner with you in
helping him to secure and invest a large sum of united states dollars.

You can check for more information here -

I sent you this message today because I will like you to help me in securing some of

This funds is in an off shore account, With these in mind, you can see that contacting you requires absolute care,honesty and confidentiality.
You will be require you to help in the purchase of home in your country for him and further invest 50% of the total sum in a lucrative business.
You will be adiquantly compensated as he is ready to discuss terms for assistance if you are ready.

Please let me know your position as soon as you reveive this message for a further communications.

Yours Faithfully,
Elisabeth De Nolf

Yet another email from "Fund Transfer Assistance" scam email:

Text presented within:

Subject: Maria

Dear Friend,

My Name is Miss Maria Gomo from Cote d'Ivoire, I'm 16 years old and I originated from Bondoukou, Côte d’Ivoire. I believe that it is better we know each other better because I believe that any good relationship will only last if it is built on trust and mutual understanding.

Please I want you to read this letter very carefully and I must apologize for barging this message into your mailbox without any formal introduction due to the urgency and confidentiality of this
issue. I lost my parents through the crises war last time in Congo RDP, he is a gold miner, my uncle conspired and sold my father's properties and left nothing for me, on a faithful morning I opened my late father's room which I saw a briefcase and I opened it there I found documents in which indicated that my late father deposited amount of money in one of the bank in London in my name as his next of kin.

I have contacted the bank by call and by email to withdraw the money so that I can start a better life and take care of myself.  The branch manager of the bank whom I emailed told me that my father's instruction to the bank was that the money should be released to me only when I am married or if I present a trustee who will help me and invest the money overseas.

I have chosen to contact you and I believe that you will not betray my trust in you, though you may wonder why I so soon revealed myself to you without knowing you well, I am convinced that you are the real person to help me out. I will disclose much to you if you can assist me to relocate to your country because my wicked uncle has threatened to assassinate me. The amount involved is $10.5 Million Dollars with some kilos of Gold Bars and I have confirmed from the bank in London where the Gold BARS were deposited. You will also help me to place the money in a more profitable business venture in your country.

However, you will help me by recommending a nice university in your country so that I can complete my education, it is my intention to compensate you with 30% from the total money for your noble assistance and the balance shall be my capital for establishment after my school.

In receipt of your below information, I will submit a letter of introduction/recommendation to the bank immediately in your name as my trustee. Please read this proposal as urgent and contact me with your information below: here is my private email address. ( gomomaria6@gmail.com )

1. Name In full:.........2. Address:..............3.
Nationality:..........4. Age:.........5. Sex..........6. Occupation:
..........7. Marital Status:.......8. Phone.........

Yours Faithfully,

Miss Maria Gomo.

Another example of an email from "Fund Transfer Assistance" spam campaign:

Text presented within:

ATTN : CEO.
Compliment of the season.
I am the Deputy Director of finance, foreign
payment approval dept. Philipines . My office oversees all
developmental projects financed by Asian Development Bank.

 With reference to an introduction and recommendation of you by a
friend who works in the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Manila
, I do hereby; Wish to commence talk with you on a highly
confidential level. After due consultations with my colleagues, We
have decided to contact you in order to arrange for a possible
transfer of the sum of Five million three hundred thousand dollars
(US$5.300.000.00) into your account. This money is a subject of an
over inflated {over - invoiced}sum acquired from contracts awarded by
my Agency in the past years.

 The original contractors have been paid and all projects executed by
them commissioned. This over inflated amount cannot be withdraw
locally from the  paying Bank because the contractors concerned are
foreign Firms. As a matter of trust, honesty and secrecy, we have
decided to contact you as to assist us provide an account for this transaction if you have
accepted to assist and fully participate in this transaction,
The terms of sharing the money after a successful transfer
will be discussed as you indicate your interest in assisting to transfer
this money. Immediately all these information gets to us, we will then
present every document to the paying bank. Be rest assured with our
connections, everything will be through within a short time. After
many years of meticulous services to the government and people of our sub region we would not want our image to
be dented. Therefore we expect you to handle this transaction with utmost maturity by keeping everything secret. I can assure you that if
our instructions are carefully adhered to, there will not be any hitch
Throughout the transaction, there is  no risk on your side, because we
have perfected the  deal very well over years.

After the transfer, we will be coming over to your country for further
sharing and possible investments.
I'm waiting to hear from you urgently through your respond here
roy@feedbackunitroy.info

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Quick menu:

• What is Fund Transfer Assistance scam 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?

There are probably hundreds of other people who received the same letter. Such letters are not personal.

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

If scammers have obtained personal information such as credit card details, ID card information, social security numbers, or other details, contact corresponding authorities as soon as possible.

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

It is not guaranteed that your computer is infected just because you opened a malicious file. For instance, malicious MS Office documents do not infect computers until users enable macros commands. However, most executables inject malware immediately after opening them.

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

If you have only opened an email and have not clicked on any links or opened any attachments, then your computer is not infected.

Will Combo Cleaner remove malware infections that were present in email attachment?

Combo Cleaner can detect and remove a wide range of malware infections. It is important to note that some advanced malware may be difficult to detect. Thus, it is required to run a complete system scan to ensure that all threats are detected and eliminated.

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