How to spot scam campaigns like "Final Release Waiver"
Written by Tomas Meskauskas on
What is "Final Release Waiver"?
After carefully examining this email, our investigation revealed that it is a phishing attempt orchestrated by scammers seeking to obtain personal information from unsuspecting recipients. The email includes a deceptive attachment that leads to a fraudulent website, intending to trick users into divulging sensitive data.
More about the "Final Release Waiver" scam email
The email requests the recipient to sign, date, and return the final release waiver, which is included as an attachment. However, no specific information about the sender or any further context is provided in the email. The purpose of this email is to lure the recipient into opening the attached file leading to a phishing website.
The phishing page included in this email replicates the Microsoft sign-in website to deceive users. It prompts users to enter their login credentials, which are then transmitted to the scammers behind the scam. Providing login credentials to scammers can cause various damage.
With obtained login credentials, scammers can carry out various malicious activities. They may gain unauthorized access to the victim's email accounts, social media profiles, or other online services, enabling them to impersonate the victim and send phishing emails or messages to their contacts.
This could lead to further data breaches and scams. Scammers can also exploit the credentials to access sensitive information, such as personal details, financial data, or private messages, which they can use for identity theft or extortion.
The stolen credentials may also be sold on the dark web, further fueling cybercrime activities and exposing the victim to potential risks across multiple platforms and services.
| Name | Final Release Waiver Email Scam |
| Threat Type | Phishing, Scam, Social Engineering, Fraud |
| Fake Claim | Email contains a waiver |
| Attachment | Lien Waiver .shtml |
| Detection Names (HTML Attachment) | Avast (HTML:PhishingMS-AGJ [Phish]), Combo Cleaner (Generic.JS.FakeLogin.A.543E0B8B), ESET-NOD32 (HTML/Phishing.Gen), Ikarus (Phishing.HTML.Doc), Microsoft (Trojan:Win32/Phonzy.B!ml), Full List Of Detections (VirusTotal) |
| Disguise | Letter regarding a waiver |
| 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 a type of cyberattack in which scammers impersonate legitimate organizations or individuals to deceive recipients into revealing sensitive information, such as login credentials, personal details, or financial data. These emails often appear genuine, using official logos, language, and formatting to trick users into believing they are legitimate.
Phishing emails typically contain malicious links or attachments that, when clicked or downloaded, can lead to malware infections or direct users to fake websites designed to steal their information. Examples of phishing emails are "Blockchain.com - Your Account Is Locked", "HelpDesk Mail Delivery Failure", and "Inquiry List".
How do spam campaigns infect computers?
Infecting computers through email involves multiple methods, with one prevalent technique being the use of malicious email attachments. Cybercriminals send emails containing infected files like .exe, .doc, .xls, .pdf, or .zip formats. When users open these attachments, the malware is triggered, leading to the computer's infection.
Furthermore, in more sophisticated attacks, malware may be embedded in macros within documents, such as Word or Excel files. If the user enables macros, the malware is executed, leading to potential security breaches.
In addition, emails are employed as another method, deceiving users into clicking on malicious links that open malicious websites or download malware onto their systems.
How to avoid installation of malware?
Exercising caution when dealing with email attachments and links, particularly if they come from unknown sources, is of utmost importance. It is strongly recommended to refrain from opening suspicious attachments or clicking on links to ensure cybersecurity.
Also, it is highly advisable to rely on official and reputable sources while steering clear of unverified websites or third-party platforms that could potentially distribute malware-infected files.
Furthermore, it is important to maintain updated versions of your operating system, software applications, and antivirus software. Always be cautious when dealing with advertisements on suspicious websites and carefully assess whether to allow notification permissions from such sites.
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 "Final Release Waiver" email letter:
Subject: Final Release Waiver
-,
Please sign, date, and return the Final Release Waiver attached.
The complete version of this receipt has been attached to this -
Screenshot of the phishing page attached to this email:
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Quick menu:
- What is Final Release Waiver 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?
Cybercriminals send identical letters to a large number of recipients, hoping that the scam will deceive some of them. These spam emails lack any personalization and are mass-produced to target a wide audience.
I have provided my personal information when tricked by this email, what should I do?
If you have shared any account credentials, it is crucial to change all passwords immediately. Additionally, if you have disclosed other sensitive personal information, such as credit card details or ID card information, it is essential to contact the relevant authorities as soon as possible for further assistance.
I have downloaded and opened a malicious file attached to an email, is my computer infected?
Opening an executable file could lead to infection while opening a document file such as .pdf or .doc might not necessarily cause an infection. In some instances, simply opening a document may not be sufficient for malware to compromise the system.
I have read the email but did not open the attachment, is my computer infected?
Merely opening an email is safe and harmless. However, clicking links or opening attachments within the email can lead to system infections.
Will Combo Cleaner remove malware infections that were present in email attachment?
Combo Cleaner effectively detects and removes almost all known malware infections. It is essential to note that sophisticated malware often conceals itself deeply within the system. Therefore, a full system scan is necessary to ensure malware detection and removal.
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