How to spot fake emails like "Authenticate Your Credentials To Access All Your Documents"
Written by Tomas Meskauskas on
What is "Authenticate Your Credentials To Access All Your Documents"?
Our team has examined this email and discovered that it is a fraudulent message instructing its recipients to verify their credentials. The email includes an attachment that leads to a fake login page. The scam's objective is to deceive the recipients into divulging their login information on a misleading website.
More about the "Authenticate Your Credentials To Access All Your Documents" scam email
The phishing email's subject line is designed to grab recipients' attention and create a sense of urgency. The email instructs recipients to download an attached file, which is said to contain a secure document. However, the email's true objective is to trick recipients into divulging their login credentials (email addresses and passwords).
The email implies that recipients will be able to access all of their documents remotely if they authenticate their credentials. The file attached to this letter is an HTML file that displays a fake login form designed to lure users into providing their email addresses and passwords for authentication.
Scammers can misuse stolen login information to access the victim's account and obtain sensitive information, which can be used for identity theft or financial fraud. Also, scammers can use the login information to send spam or phishing emails to contacts on the victim's email list, further spreading the scam and potentially infecting more systems with malware.
Another common misuse of stolen login information involves attempting to use the same credentials on other online services or websites to gain access to additional personal information, financial data, or other sensitive information.
| Name | Authenticate Your Credentials To Access All Your Documents Email Scam |
| Threat Type | Phishing, Scam, Social Engineering, Fraud |
| Fake Claim | You have received an essential encrypted company email |
| Detection Names (Securedoc_53793733.html) | Avast (Other:Malware-gen [Trj]), Combo Cleaner (Trojan.HTML.Hidden.1.Gen), Emsisoft (Trojan.HTML.Hidden.1.Gen (B)), Ikarus (Phishing.HTML.Doc), Microsoft (Trojan:HTML/Phish.SA!MTB), 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 are fraudulent emails that are designed to trick recipients into providing information, such as login credentials, personal data, financial details, etc.
These scams are typically carried out by cybercriminals who use deceptive tactics to make their emails appear as though they come from a legitimate source, such as a bank, government agency, or popular online service provider.
Phishing emails often share certain characteristics that make them recognizable to recipients who know what to look for. Some common elements of phishing emails include urgent or threatening language, suspicious links or attachments, requests for personal information, poor grammar and spelling, and an unfamiliar sender.
Examples of scam emails are "Email Account Has Been Used To Spread Malicious Content", "Messages Are Restrained Due To Low Bandwidth", and "HR Added You To The Working Group". It is important to mention that threat actors can use emails to lure recipients into infecting their computers.
How do spam campaigns infect computers?
Malware can be distributed through emails via malicious links or attachments. These emails are risky as users may unwittingly download and install the malware by enabling macros in malicious documents, running executable files, and opening malicious pages, among other actions.
In order to spread malware, threat actors often utilize a variety of file types, including malicious MS Office documents, PDF files, JavaScript files, executables, ISO files, and archives.
How to avoid installation of malware?
Downloading software and files exclusively from official pages and stores while avoiding other sources is imperative. One should be wary of ads on unreliable websites and closely scrutinize emails, particularly those from unknown senders or irrelevant to the recipient.
Furthermore, it is advisable to regularly update the operating system and installed software and to run virus scans using a reputable antivirus program.
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 "Authenticate Your Credentials To Access All Your Documents" email letter:
Subject: You have received an essential encrypted company email - Remote ID - 05755111 - 3/27/2023 1:27:32 p.m.
To view secure attached document, download attached file and authenticate your credentials to access all your documents on the go.
Screenshot of the phishing page opened via the attached file:
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Quick menu:
- What is Authenticate Your Credentials To Access All Your Documents 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?
Criminals send identical letters to thousands of people in the hope that someone will fall for their scheme. These spam emails are not customized or personalized.
I have provided my personal information when tricked by this email, what should I do?
If you have provided any account credentials, it is crucial to change all passwords immediately. Moreover, if you have disclosed other personal information (such as credit card details or ID card information), it is important to contact the relevant authorities.
I have downloaded and opened a file attached to this email, is my computer infected?
If the file was executable, the chances of infection are high. However, if it was a document (such as .pdf or .doc), there is a possibility that you may have avoided the infection, as simply opening the document does not always result in malware infiltration.
I have read the email but did not open the attachment, is my computer infected?
Merely opening an email is not harmful in any way. System infections can occur when links within the email are clicked or attached files are opened.
Will Combo Cleaner remove malware infections that were present in email attachment?
Combo Cleaner can identify and remove almost all known malware infections. However, it is important to note that sophisticated malware is often deeply hidden within the system. Consequently, performing a comprehensive system scan is essential.
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