Avoid infecting your device via fake "Interested In Buying From You" email

What kind of email is "Interested In Buying From You"?

After inspecting the "Interested In Buying From You" email, we determined that it is malspam – malicious spam. The letter is presented as an inquiry regarding a purchase, the details of which can be found in the attached file. However, the attachment is designed to infect recipients' devices with the FormBook malware.

"Interested In Buying From You" email virus overview

The email with the subject "Pls. Quote your best price for items in RFQ attached." (may vary) states that the sender is interested in buying from the recipient. The letter requests them to provide updated categories and brochures, as well as unit price and possible bulk discounts.

The details of the bogus purchase are allegedly listed in the attached file. The spam email urges the recipient to respond as soon as possible, as the sender must make a decision within the next few days.

It must be emphasized that this emails and all its claims are false. Hence, when the attached file is opened – it infects the system with FormBook. More information on FormBook can be found in our article on this data-stealing malware.

To summarize, through emails like "Interested In Buying From You" – users can experience system infections, severe privacy issues, financial losses, and even identity theft.

If you believe that your system is infected with FormBook (or other malware), immediately use an anti-virus to run a full system scan and remove all detected threats.

Threat Summary:

Name	"Interested In Buying From You" malspam
Threat Type	Trojan, password-stealing virus, banking malware, spyware.
Fake Claim	Sender is interested in buying from the recipient.
Attachment(s)	NEW Order Details.GZ (filename may vary)
Detection Names (attachment)	Avast (Win32:PWSX-gen [Trj]), Combo Cleaner (Trojan.GenericKD.65176676), ESET-NOD32 (A Variant Of MSIL/Kryptik.AHWL), Kaspersky (UDS:Trojan-Spy.MSIL.Noon.gen), Microsoft (Trojan:MSIL/AgentTesla.MBBL!MTB), Full List Of Detections (VirusTotal)
Payload	FormBook
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. ▼ 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.

Malspam campaign examples

"Payment Remittance Advice", "Statement Of Account (SOA)", "Pending Payment", "Concept Design Drawings", and "Invoices Copies Are Not Clear" are just some examples of malspam that we have analyzed recently.

Spam emails are not used exclusively to spread malware, they are also employed to facilitate phishing and various other scams. These letters are usually disguised as "urgent", "priority", and similar; they can even be presented as messages from legitimate service providers, companies, organizations, authorities, or other entities.

How do spam campaigns infect computers?

Spam emails proliferate malware via virulent attachments or malicious links. The distributed files can be Microsoft Office and PDF documents, executables (.exe, .run, etc.), archives (ZIP, RAR, etc.), JavaScript, and so on.

When an infectious file is executed, run, or otherwise opened – the malware download/installation process is jumpstarted. For example, Microsoft Office documents infect systems by executing malicious macro commands.

How to avoid installation of malware?

We strongly recommend approaching incoming emails, PMs/DMs, SMSes, ad other messages with caution. The attachments and links found in suspect/irrelevant mail – must not be opened, as they can be malicious and cause infections.

Another recommendation is to always use post-2010 Microsoft Office versions since they have the "Protected View" mode that prevents automatic macro execution.

It must be mentioned that malware is not proliferated only via spam mail. Therefore, we advise downloading only from official and verified channels. Additionally, software must be activated and updated using functions/tools provided by genuine developers, as illegal activation ("cracking") tools and third-party updates can contain malware.

It is crucial to be vigilant when browsing since fake and harmful online content usually appears legitimate and innocuous.

We must emphasize the importance of having a dependable anti-virus installed and kept up-to-date. Security programs 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 "Interested In Buying From You" spam email letter:

Subject: Pls. Quote your best price for items in RFQ attached.

ATTN:
We are very interested in buying from you. We would appreciate it if you can send us your updated categories and brochures, I also appreciate it if you can send me the price of a unit as well as discount for Bulk orders I need to make a decision in the next few days, so it is important that I get this information as soon as possible. Waiting for your reply.

Best regards.

Regards,
Maris Azmin
Purchasing & Import Department
+44 7360 518224

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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 "Interested In Buying From You" 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?

Cyber criminals distribute spam emails by the thousand with the hopes that at least some recipients will fall for their scams. This mail is not personal.

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

No, opening/reading an email will not initiate any system infection processes. Malware download/installation chains are triggered when malicious attachments or links found in spam mail are opened/clicked.

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

Whether an infection occurred might depend on the opened file's format. When opened, executables (.exe, .run, etc.) cause infections almost without fail. However, document formats (.doc, .xls, .pdf, etc.) may need additional user interaction (e.g., enabling macro commands) to begin downloading/installing malware.

Will Combo Cleaner remove malware infections present in email attachments?

Yes, Combo Cleaner is designed to scan systems and remove threats. It is capable of detecting and eliminating practically all known malware infections. Note that since sophisticated malicious software usually hides deep within systems – running a full system scan is essential.

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