Avoid getting scammed by fake "You Have Received Attached Document" emails

What kind of email is "You Have Received Attached Document"?

The "You Have Received Attached Document" spam email is disguised as a notification regarding a sent file. The alleged attachment is a document concerning a contract. This phishing mail aims to obtain recipients' email account log-in credentials.

"You Have Received Attached Document" email scam overview

The spam email with the subject "CONTRACT APPROVAL today 10/20/2023 11:16:52 a.m." (may vary) informs the recipient of a document sent to them as an attachment. The file is referred to as contract approval "C-A ORDER NUMBER 0507230053".

It must be stressed that this email is spam – meaning that the recipient was not sent a file; in fact, this letter does not even contain an attachment. Instead, this mail promotes a phishing website that imitates the recipient's email sign-in page. Information entered into sites of this kind is recorded and sent to scammers.

Through emails, cyber criminals might gain control over the accounts and platforms registered through them. To expand on the potential threats, cyber criminals can steal the identities of social account owners (e.g., emails, social networking/media, messengers, chats, etc.) and ask the contacts/friends/followers for loans or donations, promote scams, and even spread malware by sharing malicious files/links.

Furthermore, should any sensitive/confidential/compromising content be found on hijacked data storage or similar platforms – it can be used for blackmail or other malicious purposes.

What is more, 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, by trusting an email like "You Have Received Attached Document" – users can experience severe privacy issues, financial losses, and even identity theft.

If you have been tricked by this spam email into disclosing your log-in credentials – immediately change the passwords of all possibly exposed accounts and contact their official support.

Threat Summary:

Name	"You Have Received Attached Document" phishing email
Threat Type	Phishing, Scam, Social Engineering, Fraud
Fake Claim	Recipient has been sent documentation regarding contract approval.
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

"HSBC - Payment Swift Copy", "Webmail Software Upgrade", "RFQ Doc List", "Voicemail Message Received", and "American Express - Account Validation Required" are just some examples of phishing emails that we have examined recently.

Spam is utilized in scam promotion and malware distribution. While these emails are notorious for spelling and grammatical errors, they may also be competently disguised as messages from genuine companies, organizations, service providers, authorities, and other entities.

We strongly recommend exercising caution with incoming emails, DMs/PMs, SMSes, and other messages – since they are widespread and may be well-crafted.

How do spam campaigns infect computers?

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

When a virulent file is executed, run, or otherwise opened – the infection process is jumpstarted. However, some formats can require additional interaction to start downloading/installing malware. For example, Microsoft Office documents may need users to enable macro commands (i.e., editing/content), while OneNote files require them to click embedded links or files.

How to avoid installation of malware?

It is paramount to be careful with incoming emails and other messages. Attachments or links found in suspect/irrelevant mail must not be opened, as they can be infectious. We recommend using post-2010 Microsoft Office versions since they have the "Protected View" mode that prevents automatic macro command execution.

However, malware is proliferated using various methods as well. Therefore, we also recommend being vigilant when browsing, as fake and malicious online content usually appears legitimate and harmless.

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

We must stress the importance of having a reputable 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 "You Have Received Attached Document" spam email letter:

Subject: CONTRACT APPROVAL today 10/20/2023 11:16:52 a.m.

To:
********
 
You have received (1) Attached Document, On: ******** today 10/20/2023 11:16:52 a.m.

(********) Secure Attachment

VIEW CONTRACT APPROVAL

Number: C-A ORDER NUMBER 0507230053
 

Sc­an Da­te: (today 10/20/2023 11:16:52 a.m.)
_________________
NEC SL1100 InMail

This email was sent to ********.

Screenshot of the phishing website promoted by the "You Have Received Attached Document" spam campaign:

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Quick menu:

• What is "You Have Received Attached Document" 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 impersonal, regardless of any relevant details that they may contain. Cyber criminals distribute this mail in mass-scale 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 log-in credentials – change the passwords of all potentially compromised accounts and inform official support without delay. However, if the disclosed data was of a different personal nature (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?

Devices are infected when malicious attachments/links are opened – hence, merely reading an email will not jumpstart any malware download/installation processes.

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.) infect systems almost without fail upon being opened. While documents (.doc, .xls, .pdf, .one, etc.) might need additional actions to jumpstart infection chains, e.g., enabling macro commands, clicking embedded files/links, etc.

Will Combo Cleaner remove malware infections present in email attachments?

Yes, Combo Cleaner can detect and eliminate nearly all known malware infections. Note that performing a full system scan is essential since high-end malicious programs typically hide deep within systems.

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