How to spot scams like "View And Upload Required Documents"

What kind of scam is "View And Upload Required Documents"?

Our team has reviewed this email and found that its intent is to entice recipients into revealing their personal information. It includes a file that presents a fake form, prompting users to share sensitive details. It is imperative to disregard such emails.

More about the "View And Upload Required Documents" scam email

In this phishing email, the sender presents a seemingly benign message using the name Jane Camper. The email encourages the recipient to view and upload certain documents, supposedly for the purpose of processing a review status by signing into a system change. However, it is important to note that this email is a phishing attempt.

The attached file in this email, named "Updatedoc.HTM", is cleverly disguised to resemble a Microsoft Excel document. It prompts users to input their email address and password, seemingly to access the document. However, the real intent behind this deceptive form is to trick users into providing their login credentials to scammers.

Scammers can exploit stolen login credentials in several harmful ways. They can gain illicit entry into the victim's online accounts, including email, social media, and financial accounts, allowing them to monitor personal information, private messages, and financial transactions.

Also, scammers can use the stolen credentials to impersonate the victim, perpetrating identity theft and engaging in fraudulent activities. Stolen login details can also be utilized to launch phishing campaigns, where scammers send deceptive emails or messages to the victim's contacts, aiming to steal more login credentials or spread malware.

Furthermore, stolen credentials are often sold on the dark web, creating a thriving market where cybercriminals can buy and use them for various malicious purposes, further endangering the victim's online security and privacy.

Threat Summary:

Name	View And Upload Required Documents Email Scam
Threat Type	Phishing, Scam, Social Engineering, Fraud
Fake Claim	Recipients are required to review the attached document
Attachment	Updatedoc.HTM (its name may vary)
Detection Names (Attachment)	AhnLab-V3 (HTML/Phishing.S23), Fortinet (JS/Phishing.3DWU!tr), Ikarus (Phishing.HTML.Doc), McAfee-GW-Edition (BehavesLike.HTML.HiddenPayload.jx), Microsoft (Trojan:Script/Wacatac.B!ml), Full List Of Detections (VirusTotal)
Disguise	Letter from a person named Jane Camper
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.

Similar scam emails in general

Phishing emails are fraudulent messages designed to deceive recipients into taking harmful actions, often by impersonating trusted entities. These emails typically contain links or attachments that can lead to malware infection, identity theft, or financial fraud. They may request sensitive information such as login credentials, personal details, or financial data under false pretenses.

Examples of similar emails are "Your Password Is Expiring", "USPS - Your Package Is Waiting For Delivery", and "Queued Messages Notification".

How do spam campaigns infect computers?

Threat actors frequently craft emails with authentic appearances to entice recipients into opening harmful attachments or clicking on links, potentially introducing malicious software to their computers.

These malicious actors often employ diverse file formats, such as ISO, executables (.exe), Microsoft Office documents (.doc, .xls), PDFs, and scripts (.js), as vehicles for malware distribution. Once these files are accessed, the malware can initiate its operations, sometimes without the need for additional actions like enabling macros in documents.

How to avoid installation of malware?

Maintain your computer's security by consistently updating your operating system, web browsers, antivirus software, and all other programs. Exercise caution when encountering email attachments or links, particularly if they originate from unknown addresses. Refrain from opening attachments or clicking on links unless you can verify their legitimacy.

Protect your computer by installing and keeping reliable antivirus and anti-malware software up to date. Refrain from downloading files from questionable websites, and exclusively obtain software from trusted sources. Exercise caution when encountering ads or pop-ups on suspicious 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 "View And Upload Required Documents" email letter:

Subject: Update on Doc

Good day,

View and upload required documents, to process the review status by signing in for the system change.

Sincerely,
Best Regards
Jane Camper

The fake sign in form presented in the attached file:

Instant automatic malware removal: Manual threat removal might be a lengthy and complicated process that requires advanced IT skills. Combo Cleaner is a professional automatic malware removal tool that is recommended to get rid of malware. Download it by clicking the button below:
▼ 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 View And Upload Required Documents phishing campaign?
• 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?

These emails may possess an appearance of legitimacy but typically lack personalization. Cybercriminals often cast a wide net, aiming to deceive a diverse range of recipients and illicitly obtain their personal or financial data.

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

In the event that you have unwittingly divulged your personal information through a deceptive email, it is imperative to respond promptly. Take swift action by updating all pertinent passwords, vigilantly overseeing your accounts for strange activities, and considering the possibility of notifying relevant authorities or institutions regarding the potential security breach.

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

No, the file attached to this email is not intended to infect computers. However, threat actors can include files (or links) designed to inject malware into their emails.

I have read the email but did not open the attachment, is my computer infected?

Simply opening an email poses no threat. It is an entirely harmless action. The real risk lies in clicking on links contained within the email or opening attached files.

Will Combo Cleaner remove malware infections that were present in email attachment?

Combo Cleaner will examine your computer and eliminate malware effectively. It can detect the majority of known malware. Conducting a comprehensive system scan is crucial to guarantee the complete removal of advanced malware, as such threats often conceal themselves deeply within the system.

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