Avoid having your email account stolen through fake "Upcoming Auction" emails

What kind of email is "Upcoming Auction"?

After examining the "Upcoming Auction" email, we determined that it is spam. It is presented as a message from the recipient's employer inviting them to join an auction. This hoax mail instructs to sign into the email account via a phishing website to show interest in participation.

"Upcoming Auction" email scam overview

The email with the subject "Upcoming Auction: Used Asset/Items for Employee" (may vary) informs the recipient that their supposed employer is holding an auction for assets and used items. The auction will boast low prices for employees exclusively. If interested in participating, the recipient is instructed to click the "Upcoming Auction: Interested" button.

As mentioned in the introduction, all the information provided by this letter is false, and this mail is in no way associated with the recipient's actual employer.

Once we pressed the button in this letter, we were redirected to a phishing website that imitates the recipient's email account sign-in page. Attempts to log in through this webpage will disclose the account's credentials (i.e., passwords) to scammers.

Victims of this scam can experience greater loss than just having their emails stolen, as these accounts are typically used to register other content – which can also get hijacked by cyber criminals.

To expand upon the potential misuse: scammers can steal the identities of social account owners (e.g., emails, social media/networking, messengers, etc.) and ask the contacts/friends for loans or donations, promote scams, and proliferate malware by sharing malicious files/links.

Furthermore, finance-related accounts (e.g., online banking, e-commerce, money transferring, cryptowallets, etc.) can be used to make fraudulent transactions and online purchases.

To summarize, by trusting an email like "Upcoming Auction" – users can experience severe privacy issues, financial losses, and even identity theft.

If you have already entered your log-in credentials into a phishing site – immediately change the passwords of all potentially exposed accounts and contact their official support.

Threat Summary:

Name	"Upcoming Auction" phishing email
Threat Type	Phishing, Scam, Social Engineering, Fraud
Fake Claim	Recipient's employer is holding an auction.
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.
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Phishing spam campaign examples

"OVHCloud Suspension", "Suspicious Malwares Detected", "American Express Account Has Been Locked", "You Have Received A Secure Message", and "Intuit QuickBooks Encrypted Message" are merely some examples of phishing emails we have inspected recently.

These types of letters target a variety of data; most commonly, scammers seek to acquire log-in credentials, personally identifiable details, and finance-related information (e.g., banking account data, credit card numbers, etc.). Various scams are promoted via spam mail, and it is used to proliferate malware.

Due to how widespread and potentially well-made spam mail can be, we strongly advise approaching incoming emails and other messages with caution.

How do spam campaigns infect computers?

Spam emails can have infectious files attached to or linked inside them (i.e., links leading to malicious sites that infiltrate malware into systems or trick visitors into downloading/installing it themselves).

Virulent files can be archives (RAR, ZIP, etc.), executables (.exe, .run, etc.), documents (PDF, Microsoft Office, Microsoft OneNote, etc.), JavaScript, and so forth.

Once opened, an infectious file triggers malware download/installation processes. However, some formats may need additional actions to jumpstart infection chains. For example, Microsoft Office documents require users to enable macro commands (i.e., editing/content), while OneNote files need them to click on embedded files or links.

How to avoid installation of malware?

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

However, malware is not spread only via spam mail. Therefore, we advise being vigilant when browsing since fake and dangerous online content usually appears legitimate and innocuous.

Additionally, all downloads must be performed from official and trustworthy channels. Another recommendation is to activate and update programs by using functions/tools provided by genuine developers, as illegal activation tools ("cracks") and third-party updaters may contain malware.

We must emphasize the importance of having a reputable anti-virus installed and kept updated. Security software must be used to run regular system scans and to remove detected 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 "Upcoming Auction" spam email letter:

Subject: Upcoming Auction: Used Asset/Items for Employee

Dear All,

We will be auctioning some of our used items/Asset at very low prices for employees only.

Interested employees can Indicate using the below button.

Shortlisted employees will receive notification to participate during the auction at 9:00am on Monday 14th August 2023.

Upcoming Auction: Interested

Regards

Facility Manager
Facility & Asset Care Department
Email: -
Web:   -

Screenshot of the phishing website promoted by the "Upcoming Auction" spam campaign:

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Quick menu:

• What is "Upcoming Auction" 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 emails are not personal. Even if they contain relevant information, it could randomly apply to the recipient or because it was scraped from publicly available platforms. Cyber criminals distribute spam mail in massive campaigns – 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 provided your account credentials – change the passwords of all possibly exposed accounts and inform their official support without delay. And if you have disclosed other private information (e.g., ID card details, 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?

No, merely opening an email will not initiate any system infection processes. Devices are infected when malicious attachments or links are opened/clicked.

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

If the opened file was an executable (.exe, .run, etc.) – most likely, yes – the system was infected. However, you might have avoided it if the file was a document (.doc, .xls, .one, .pdf, etc.). These formats may need extra actions (e.g., enabling macro commands, clicking embedded files/links, etc.) to start malware download/installation processes.

Will Combo Cleaner remove malware infections present in email attachments?

Yes, Combo Cleaner is capable of detecting and eliminating nearly all known malware infections. It must be stressed that performing a complete system scan is essential – since high-end malicious software typically hides deep within systems.

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