Do not trust fake "Compensation For People Scammed by African Countries" emails
Written by Tomas Meskauskas on
What kind of email is "Compensation For People Scammed by African Countries"?
"Compensation For People Scammed by African Countries" is a phishing email targeting personally identifiable details. This spam mail is an inverse of infamous scams wherein scammers pretend to be African millionaires or representatives of African banks promising large payouts to victims.
This letter is presented as a missive from the World Bank claiming that the recipient is eligible to receive compensation from a fund dedicated to victims of said scams.
It must be emphasized that all the claims made by this email are false, and this mail is in no way associated with the World Bank or any other real individuals or entities.
"Compensation For People Scammed by African Countries" email scam overview
The spam email with the subject "The World Bank Head Quarter" (may vary) is presented as a letter from the World Bank. It details the creation of a compensatory fund for victims of scams facilitated by citizens of African countries. Supposedly, the fake fund was established following a meeting of unspecified African countries' presidents and the president of the United States.
These efforts are overseen by the World Bank and will entail the distribution of 52 million USD. The email recipient has been allotted 8 million USD, which will be delivered in two consignment boxes. The letter instructs to provide the following information for verification: full name, occupation, home address, country, phone number, and email address.
As mentioned in the introduction, all these claims are false, and this scam is not associated with any real individuals or legitimate entities.
Personally identifiable details (as those targeted by this spam email) can be used by cyber criminals to steal victims' identities, craft personalized scams, or for other nefarious purposes.
If you have already disclosed this highly sensitive information to scammers – immediately contact the appropriate authorities.
| Name | "Compensation For People Scammed by African Countries" phishing email |
| Threat Type | Phishing, Scam, Social Engineering, Fraud |
| Fake Claim | Recipient will be compensated from a fund dedicated to victims of scams perpetrated by citizens of African countries. |
| Disguise | World Bank |
| 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. |
Phishing spam campaign examples
We have examined numerous spam emails; "Manual Server Configuration", "Glitch Dueing Server Update", "Stalled Funds - United Bank Of Africa", "Capital One SECURITY MESSAGE", and "Funds Has Been Credited To Your Account" are just some examples of ones used for phishing.
Information targeted by this mail can vary, but most commonly, it includes personally identifiable details (e.g., ID card details, passport photos/scans, etc.), log-in credentials (e.g., emails, social networking/media, online banking, e-commerce, cryptowallets, etc.), and finance-related data (e.g., banking account details, credit card numbers, etc.).
Various scams are promoted through spam emails, and they are even used to proliferate malware. While infamous for spelling and grammatical errors, spam mail may also be competently disguised as messages from genuine companies, service providers, organizations, institutions, authorities, and other entities.
How do spam campaigns infect computers?
Spam campaigns can include malicious files as attachments or download links. These files can be archives (ZIP, RAR, etc.), executables (.exe, .run, etc.), documents (PDF, Microsoft Office, Microsoft OneNote, etc.), JavaScript, and so forth.
Once an infectious file is opened – the malware download/installation process is triggered. However, some formats may require additional user interaction to jumpstart infection chains. For example, Microsoft Office documents need users to enable macro commands (i.e., editing/content), while OneNote files require them to click on embedded files/links.
How to avoid installation of malware?
We strongly recommend being careful with incoming emails, DMs/PMs, SMSes, and other messages. Attachments or links found in suspicious mail must not be opened, as they can be virulent.
Another recommendation is to use Microsoft Office versions released after 2010 since they have the "Protected View" mode that prevents automatic macro command execution.
However, it must be mentioned that malware is not proliferated exclusively via spam mail. Therefore, we advise being vigilant while browsing since fraudulent and malicious online content usually appears legitimate and innocuous.
Additionally, all downloads must be performed from official and trustworthy sources. It is just as important to activate and update software by using genuine functions/tools, as illegal activation tools ("cracks") and third-party updaters can contain malware.
We must emphasize that having a reputable anti-virus installed and kept updated is paramount to device and user safety. Security programs must be used to run regular system scans and to remove detected threats. 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 "Compensation For People Scammed by African Countries" spam email letter:
Subject: The World Bank Head Quarter
The World Bank
1818 H Street, NW Washington, DC 20433 USA.
Attention Please Dear Beneficiary,
This is Mr.Ajay Banga the World Bank head quarter at the 1818 H
Street, NW Washington, DC 20433 USA and your information appeared to
the list of individuals to be compensated because there was a meeting
held two days ago at New York and some Presidents in some countries
was invited mostly all the Presidents in Africa and the meeting was
hosted by Mr. Joe Biden the President of the United States Of America
and i too was in the meeting and the purpose of conducting the meeting
is to compensate the people that was scammed earlier years ago till
date by some Africa countries and the compensation is for the scam
victim and the amount to be compensated to each of the list is the sum
of $52Million United States Dollars and the funds is under me at the
WORLD BANK and that is the reason I'm contacting you personal and the
funds will be packaged in two Consignment Boxes and it will be
delivered to your address and you will have it with you within just
few hours after i heard from you and i have already have your
information with me but you have to reconfirm your information to me
once again to ensure that I'm dealing with the right person to avoid
mistake or sending your compensation funds to wrong person.
Below are what i need from you now and once you reconfirm it to me
the delivery of your Consignment Boxes of your funds of Eight Million
United states Dollars
($8,000,000 USD) will immediately take off to your destination home address.
YOUR FULL NAME......................
YOUR CURRENT PHONE NUMBER...........
YOUR CURRENT EMAIL ADDRESS..........
YOUR CURRENT HOME ADDRESS...........
YOUR occupational
YOUR Country ......................
Thank you as I'm waiting to hear from you soonest with the requested
information.
Thank You once again
Mr. Ajay Banga
My phone number +1 202-743-3775
The World Bank Head Quarter
1818 H Street, NW Washington, DC 2043
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Quick menu:
- What is "Compensation For People Scammed by African Countries" 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?
Cyber criminals distribute spam mail in large-scale campaigns with the hopes that at least some recipients will fall for their scams. Hence, while these emails might include details relevant to recipients, they are impersonal.
I have provided my personal information when tricked by this spam email, what should I do?
If you have provided your log-in credentials – change the passwords of all potentially exposed accounts and inform their official support without delay. And if you've disclosed other private information (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?
No, merely opening/reading an email will not initiate any system infection processes. Devices are compromised when malicious attachments or links are opened.
I have downloaded and opened a file attached to a spam email, is my computer infected?
Whether your device was infected might depend on the opened file's format. Executables (.exe, .run, etc.) cause infections almost without fail upon launch. However, documents (.doc, .xls, .pdf, .one, etc.) may require additional actions to start downloading/installing malware (e.g., enabling macro commands, clicking embedded content, etc.).
Will Combo Cleaner remove malware infections present in email attachments?
Yes, Combo Cleaner is capable of detecting and eliminating most of the known malware infections. It must be stressed that running a full system scan is essential since high-end malicious programs typically hide deep within systems.
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