How to spot scams like "Big Sale Of Bitcoin And Ethereum" email scam
Written by Tomas Meskauskas on
What kind of scam is "Big Sale Of Bitcoin And Ethereum"?
We have examined this email (and the website within this letter) and determined that it is a phishing email disguised as a letter regarding a Bitcoin and Ethereum cryptocurrency sale. Scammers behind it attempt to trick recipients into providing sensitive information. Thus, recipients should ignore this letter.
More about the "Big Sale Of Bitcoin And Ethereum" scam email
Clicking the link presented in this email opens a deceptive website. That page claims that a popular cryptocurrency exchange has recently launched a remarkable promotion where cryptocurrencies, including BTC, ETH, BNB, DOGE, SHIB, ADA, MATIC, SOL, DOT, LTC, AVAX, DAI, and TRX, are being offered at a substantial 50% discount.
It says that in order to take advantage of this exciting offer, visitors have to log into their personal accounts on the page and explore the details, which include high limits for purchases.
As a bonus, individuals who participate in the exchange's affiliate program are offered to earn a lucrative 3% commission. The page encourages visitors to act fast before these discounted cryptocurrencies are all claimed.
The purpose of this scam email (and the provided website) is to trick unsuspecting users into providing login information (details required to log into crypto wallets). Scammers can use the provided information to access crypto wallets and drain them (transfer the funds to their wallets). They can also sell wallets (and login information) to third parties.
| Name | Big Sale Of Bitcoin And Ethereum Email Scam |
| Threat Type | Phishing, Scam, Social Engineering, Fraud |
| Fake Claim | Recipients can buy cryptocurrency 50% cheaper via the provided website |
| Related Domains | telegra[.]ph, anilnasu[.]gq |
| Detection Names (telegra[.]ph) | ESTsecurity (Malicious), StopForumSpam (Spam), Full List Of Detections (VirusTotal) |
| Detection Names (anilnasu[.]gq) | Forcepoint ThreatSeeker (Suspicious), Kaspersky (Malware), 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. |
Similar scam emails in general
Phishing emails usually are disguised as important/official/urgent letters from legitimate entities or real individuals. Scammers use them to trick recipients into providing sensitive information (e.g., credit card details, ID card information, and social security numbers). Typically, these emails contain links to phishing pages (fake websites).
Examples of phishing emails are "Transfer Profit Funds", "Upgrade Zimbra Account", and "New Security Features". It is important to mention that cybercriminals can use emails to trick recipients into infecting their computers.
How do spam campaigns infect computers?
Malware is delivered through email by sending letters containing malicious attachments or links. Attackers try to deceive recipients into downloading and opening harmful files, like MS Office docs, PDFs, archives, JavaScript files, executables, etc., or links to download these files.
They succeed when users download and execute malware by themselves (e.g., open malicious executables or enable macros commands in malicious MS Office documents).
How to avoid installation of malware?
Do not open attachments or click links within irrelevant, unexpected emails sent from unknown addresses. Avoid downloading files and programs from untrusted sources, like P2P networks, unofficial pages, third-party downloaders, free file hosting sites, etc. Download software only from official sites and stores.
Keep the installed software (and the operating system) up-to-date. Use reputed 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.
Appearance of the promoted phishing website (GIF):
Text presented in the "Big Sale Of Bitcoin And Ethereum" email letter:
Subject: -: This crypto exchange has gone crazy and is selling cryptocurrencies at a 50% discount
Big Sale of Bitcoin and Ethereum with 50% discount -
Instant automatic malware removal:
Manual threat removal might be a lengthy and complicated process that requires advanced IT skills. Combo Cleaner is a professional automatic malware removal tool that is recommended to get rid of malware. Download it by clicking the button below:
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Quick menu:
- What is Big Sale Of Bitcoin And Ethereum phishing 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?
You are not the only one who received this letter (this letter is not personal). Scammers behind phishing emails send the same letters to all recipients.
I have provided my personal information when tricked by this email, what should I do?
If scammers have obtained any login information, change all passwords right away. If you have shared other personal information, like credit card details or ID card information, contact relevant authorities as soon as possible.
I have downloaded and opened a malicious file attached to an email, is my computer infected?
Malicious executables can infect computers immediately after opening them. Malicious MS Office documents inject malware after enabling macros commands. Computers get infected in different ways. It depends on the type of infected files.
I have sent cryptocurrency to the address presented in such email, can I get my money back?
Unfortunately, it is not possible to retrieve the transferred crypto funds. Crypto transactions are irreversible.
I have read the email but didn't open the attachment, is my computer infected?
Simply opening an email is not harmful. The danger comes from clicking links or opening attachments within the email used to deliver malware.
Will Combo Cleaner remove malware infections that were present in email attachment?
Combo Cleaner will scan the operating system for threats and remove detected threats. It can detect almost all known malware. It is required to run a full system scan to get rid of advanced malware since it may hide deep in the system.
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