Do not trust fake "You've Received A Secure File" emails

What kind of email is "You've Received A Secure File"?

After inspecting the "You've Received A Secure File" spam email, we determined that it operates as a phishing scam. The letter claims that the recipient was sent a protected document, which can only be accessed by providing their email account log-in credentials.

"You've Received A Secure File" email scam overview

The email with the subject "Order reciept num:73783836" (may vary) informs the recipient that they have been sent a secure file. They are instructed to provide their "professional email credentials" to access and download the PDF document sized 56.1KB. As mentioned in the introduction, all the claims made by this spam letter are fake.

After we pressed the link provided in this message, it resulted in a redirect to a phishing website that reiterated the letter's text. Phishing pages record the information entered into them. Hence, users who provide their email account log-in credentials to this website – unintentionally disclose them to scammers.

The risk is more significant than just losing the mail account, as cyber criminals might also gain access to the content registered through it. To elaborate on the potential misuse, finance-related accounts (e.g., online banking, cryptocurrency wallets, e-commerce, etc.) can be used to make fraudulent transactions and online purchases.

Scammers can also steal the identities of social account owners (e.g., emails, social networking/media, messengers, etc.) and ask the contacts/friends/followers for loans or donations, promote scams, and spread malware by sharing malicious files/links.

Therefore, victims of spam mail like "You've Received A Secure File" can experience severe privacy issues, financial losses, and even identity theft.

If you have already disclosed your log-in credentials – immediately change the passwords of all possibly exposed accounts and inform their official support.

Threat Summary:

Name	"You've Received A Secure File" phishing email
Threat Type	Phishing, Scam, Social Engineering, Fraud
Fake Claim	Recipient was sent a secure file.
Related Domains	goodagro.com[.]tn
Detection Names (goodagro.com[.]tn)	Combo Cleaner (Phishing), CRDF (Malicious), CyRadar (Malicious), G-Data (Phishing), Sophos (Phishing), Full List Of Detections (VirusTotal)
Serving IP Address (goodagro.com[.]tn)	70.38.21.230
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

"Dropbox Is Full", "Interested In Buying Your Property", "Office Printer" are just a few examples of phishing emails we have inspected recently.

Aside from various scams, spam mail is also used to proliferate malware (e.g., trojans, ransomware, cryptocurrency miners, etc.). These letters can be basic or elaborately disguised as messages from genuine companies, service providers, institutions, authorities, and other entities.

How do spam campaigns infect computers?

Spam campaigns used to distribute malware are referred to as malspam. These emails can contain malicious files as attachments or download links. Infectious files come in various formats, e.g., documents (PDF, Microsoft Office, Microsoft OneNote, etc.), archives (RAR, ZIP, etc.), executables (.exe, .run, etc.), JavaScript, and so forth.

Once such a file is executed, run, or otherwise opened – the malware download/installation process is triggered. For example, Microsoft Office documents infect systems by executing malicious macro commands, while virulent OneNote files require users to click on embedded files or links.

How to avoid installation of malware?

Due to how widespread and potentially well-crafted spam mail can be – we strongly recommend exercising caution with incoming emails, DMs/PMs, SMSes, and other messages. Attachments or links found in suspect mail must not be opened, as they can be malicious and cause infections.

It is important to use Microsoft Office versions released after 2010 since they have the "Protected View" mode that prevents automatic macro execution.

Since malware is not proliferated exclusively via spam mail, we also advise downloading only from official and trustworthy channels. Additionally, all programs must be activated and updated by using legitimate functions/tools, as illegal activation ("cracking") tools and third-party updates may contain malware.

Another recommendation is to be careful while browsing since fake and dangerous online content usually appears ordinary and harmless.

It is paramount to have a dependable anti-virus installed and kept updated. This software must be used to perform regular system scans and to remove threats/issues. 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 "You've Received A Secure File" spam email letter:

Subject: Order reciept num:73783836

You've received a secure file
 
56.1KB
 
To receive and download this PDF file, please enter specific professional email credentials that this document was sent to.

Screenshot of the phishing website promoted by the "You've Received A Secure File" spam campaign:

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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 "You've Received A Secure File" 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 mail is not personal. Cyber criminals distribute these emails in large-scale operations – hence, thousands of users receive identical messages.

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

If you have disclosed your account credentials – change the passwords of all potentially compromised accounts and inform their official support without delay. And if the provided information was of a different personal nature (e.g., ID card details, passport scans/photos, credit card numbers, etc.) – immediately contact the corresponding authorities.

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

Devices are infected when malicious attachments/links are opened; merely reading an email will not trigger malware download/installation processes.

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. If it was an executable (.exe, .run, etc.) – most likely, yes. However, you might have avoided jumpstarting such processes if it was a document (.doc, .one, .xls, .pdf, etc.). These formats may require extra interaction (e.g., enabling macro commands, clicking embedded content, etc.) to start downloading/installing malware.

Will Combo Cleaner remove malware infections present in email attachments?

Yes, Combo Cleaner is designed to detect and eliminate all manner of threats. It can remove practically all known malware infections. Note that performing a complete system scan is crucial since high-end malicious programs tend to hide deep within systems.

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