Avoid losing your email account via fake "HSBC - Payment Swift Copy" emails

What kind of email is "HSBC - Payment Swift Copy"?

After analyzing the "HSBC - Payment Swift Copy" email, we determined that it is spam. Presented as a notification from HSBC regarding a payment, this letter aims to deceive recipients into providing their email account log-in credentials (passwords) to a phishing website.

"HSBC - Payment Swift Copy" email scam overview

The scam email with the subject "Payment Receipt Sent" (may vary) informs of an attached copy of a swift payment, which has been issued to the recipient's account at the request of the bank's customer. This letter is signed off by a department of HSBC. It also includes an image of a fake attachment.

It must be emphasized that this spam mail is not associated with the actual HSBC Holdings plc universal bank and financial services group, Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication (Swift), or any other legitimate entities.

Attempting to access the bogus attachment redirects to a phishing site. The page depicts a blurred document that includes the logo of HSBC, atop which is a pop-up presented as a supposed Adobe Reader dialog box requesting the user to sign in to view the payment.

Log-in credentials entered into this phishing website will be recorded and sent to scammers. Hence, a victim can lose their email and potentially the content registered through it.

To expand upon some of the potential abuse, cyber criminals can steal the identities of social account owners (e.g., emails, social networking, social media, messengers, chats, etc.) and ask the contacts/friends/followers for loans or donations, promote scams, and spread malware by sharing malicious files/links.

Hijacked finance-related accounts (e.g., online banking, money transferring, e-commerce, cryptocurrency wallets, etc.) can be used to make fraudulent transactions and/or online purchases.

To summarize, by trusting an email like "HSBC - Payment Swift Copy" – users can experience system infections, severe privacy issues, financial losses, and even identity theft.

If you have disclosed your log-in credentials – immediately change the passwords of all potentially compromised accounts and contact their official support.

Threat Summary:

Name	"HSBC - Payment Swift Copy" phishing email
Threat Type	Phishing, Scam, Social Engineering, Fraud
Fake Claim	Recipient has been sent a copy of a swift payment by the HSBC bank.
Disguise	HSBC Holdings plc
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

"Webmail Software Upgrade", "RFQ Doc List", "Intuit QuickBooks Database Encryption Upgrade", and "Voicemail Message Received" are merely some examples of phishing emails we have analyzed recently.

Spam letters are used to facilitate various scams and proliferate malware. This mail can even be presented as messages from genuine service providers, companies, organizations, institutions, authorities, and other entities.

We highly recommend caution with incoming emails, PMs/DMs, SMSes, and other messages – since spam mail is widespread and can wear competent disguises.

How do spam campaigns infect computers?

Cyber criminals often use spam campaigns to distribute malware. These emails/messages can have virulent files attached to or linked inside them. Infectious files can be archives (ZIP, RAR, etc.), executables (.exe, .run, etc.), documents (Microsoft Office, Microsoft OneNote, PDF, etc.), JavaScript, and so forth.

Upon opening, a malicious file triggers the malware download/installation chain. Some formats may need additional actions to jumpstart infection processes. For example, Microsoft Office files require users to enable macro commands (i.e., editing/content), while OneNote documents need them to click embedded files/links.

How to avoid installation of malware?

It is essential to treat incoming emails and other messages with care. We advise against opening attachments or links present in suspect mail, as they can be malicious. We recommend using post-2010 Microsoft Office versions since their "Protected View" mode prevents automatic macro execution.

Additionally, all downloads must be performed from official and verified channels. Another recommendation is to activate and update software using legitimate functions/tools, as illegal activation ("cracking") tools and third-party updaters can contain malware.

We must emphasize the importance of having a dependable anti-virus installed and kept updated. Security programs must be used to run regular system scans and to remove detected 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 "HSBC - Payment Swift Copy" spam email letter:

Subject: Payment Receipt Sent

Dear Sir/Madam,

Please find attached payment swift copy issued at the request of our customer to your account today.

Yours faithfully,
Global Payments and Cash Management
HSBC

****************************** *************************************

 

Attachments (total 1.5 KB)

payment swift copy.pdf (1.5KB)
 
Download preview

Screenshot of the phishing website promoted by the "HSBC - Payment Swift Copy" spam campaign:

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Quick menu:

• What is "HSBC - Payment Swift Copy" 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 operations – hence, thousands of users receive identical emails. Regardless of any relevant details this mail may contain, it is not personal.

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. However, if the disclosed data was of a different personal nature (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?

Merely opening an email will not initiate any system infection chains. Systems are infected when malicious attachments or links are opened.

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. However, document formats (.doc, .xls, .pdf, .one, etc.) may need extra actions to jumpstart infection processes, such as enabling macro commands, clicking embedded content, and so on.

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. Since sophisticated malicious programs tend to hide deep within systems – performing a complete system scan is paramount.

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