Avoid losing your email account via fake "Cloud Voicemail" emails

What kind of email is "Cloud Voicemail"?

After analyzing the "Cloud Voicemail" email, we determined that it is spam. The fake letter notifies the recipient of a voicemail that they have been sent. The voice message is supposedly in the attached file. The attachment is a phishing file that imitates the recipient's email sign-in page. Hence, by trusting this mail – recipients can have their mail accounts stolen.

"Cloud Voicemail" email scam overview

The spam email with the subject "New voicemail message from DIERBERGS PHARMACY (+1 3XX XXX XXXX )" [may vary] informs that the recipient has been sent an emergency voice message from a pharmacy. The letter contains a table listing the voicemail details. The recipient is instructed to download the attachment, as it includes the nonexistent voicemail.

It must be stressed that all information provided by "Cloud Voicemail" is false, and this mail is in no way associated with any legitimate service providers or other entities.

After we accessed the attachment, we found that the HTML document – "VM10530_VMCloud_WAV.html" (filename may vary) – is a phishing file. It mimics the recipient's email account sign-in page. Despite its relatively genuine appearance, the sign-in is fake. This file records entered information and sends it to scammers.

In addition to stealing the exposed email, they may also hijack the content registered through the account. To elaborate on the potential abuse, cyber criminals can steal the identities of social account owners (e.g., emails, social media, messengers, etc.) and ask the contacts/friends for loans or donations, promote scams, and proliferate malware by sharing malicious files/links.

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

To summarize, victims of mail like "Cloud Voicemail" can experience severe privacy issues, financial losses, and even identity theft.

If you have already typed your log-in credentials into the phishing file – immediately change the passwords of all potentially exposed accounts and contact the appropriate authorities.

Threat Summary:

Name	"Cloud Voicemail" phishing email
Threat Type	Phishing, Scam, Social Engineering, Fraud
Fake Claim	Recipient has been sent an emergency voicemail.
Attachment(s)	VM10530_VMCloud_WAV.html (filename may vary)
Detection Names (attachment)	Cyren (URL/Phish.ALN.gen!Eldorado), ESET-NOD32 (HTML/Phishing.Gen), Fortinet (HTML/Phish.596A!tr), Ikarus (Phishing.HTML.Doc), Kingsoft (Win32.Troj.Undef.a), Full List Of Detections (VirusTotal)
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

"SecureMailBox - Account Reconfirmation", "Email Account Storage Limit Is Almost", "Email Routine Check", and "Deceased Relative" are just some examples of phishing emails we have examined recently.

It must be mentioned that spam mail is used to promote various scams and even to distribute malware. While notorious for being riddled with errors, spam emails may also be disguised as messages from legitimate companies, organizations, institutions, service providers, authorities, and other entities.

How do spam campaigns infect computers?

Spam campaigns are commonly utilized in malware proliferation. Infectious files can be attached to or linked inside the emails/messages. These files can be documents (PDF, Microsoft Office, Microsoft OneNote, etc.), archives (RAR, ZIP, etc.), executables (.exe, .run, etc.), JavaScript, and so forth.

Upon opening, such a file triggers the malware download/installation chain. However, some formats require more to initiate system infection processes. For example, Microsoft Office files need users to enable macro commands (i.e., editing/content), while OneNote documents require them to click embedded links or files.

How to avoid installation of malware?

We highly recommend being careful with incoming emails, PMs/DMs, SMSes, and other messages. Attachments or links found in suspect mail must not be opened, as they can be virulent. It is important to use Microsoft Office versions released after 2010 since their "Protected View" mode prevents automatic macro command execution.

However, malware is not spread exclusively via spam mail. Therefore, we advise downloading only from official and trustworthy sources. Another recommendation is to activate and update software by using legitimate functions/tools, as illegal activation ("cracking") tools and third-party updaters can contain malware.

Furthermore, it is essential to be vigilant when browsing since fraudulent and malicious online content typically appears genuine and harmless.

We must emphasize the importance of having a reputable anti-virus installed and kept up-to-date. Security programs must be used to run regular system scans and to remove threats and 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 "Cloud Voicemail" spam email letter:

Subject: New voicemail message from DIERBERGS PHARMACY (+1 3XX XXX XXXX )

Cloud Voicemail -
Business Voice
 
You have an emergency voice message from DIERBERGS PHARMACY (+1 2XX XXX XXXX)
 
Status     Unread
Duration     0m 52s
Remote ID     B3VUF5EF
Transcript     Hi, I wanted to confirm if you received EFT Invoice #000.. See more  ?

To view the voicemail, Open the attachment (VM10530_VMCloud.WAV) and sign-in with your email -.

For more information on Cloud Voicemail   products and solutions please visit hxxp://www.cloudvoicemail.com/voice
 
© 2023 VM CloudMAIL Corporation.

Screenshot of the phishing file attached to this spam email ("VM10530_VMCloud_WAV.html"):

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 "Cloud Voicemail" 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. Cyber criminals distribute them by the thousand with the hopes that at least some recipients will fall for their scams.

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

If you've provided your log-in credentials – immediately change the passwords of all possibly exposed accounts and inform their official support. And if you have disclosed other private data (e.g., ID card details, passport photos/scans, credit card numbers, etc.) – contact the appropriate authorities without delay.

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

If you have opened/read an email – no infection chains have been triggered. 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 – your device has been compromised. You might have avoided an infection if it was a document (.doc, .xls, .one, .pdf, etc.). These formats may need additional actions (e.g., enabling macro commands, clicking embedded content, etc.) to jumpstart malware download/installation chains.

Will Combo Cleaner remove malware infections present in email attachments?

Yes, Combo Cleaner is capable of detecting and eliminating nearly all known malware infections. Note that performing a full system scan is essential since sophisticated malicious programs usually hide deep within systems.

▼ Show Discussion