How to recognize scams like "Bonbleo Corp." scam

What is "Bonbleo Corp." email scam?

After examining this email, it has been established that it originates from scammers posing as Bonbleo, a legitimate company. The intention behind this deceptive communication is to entice recipients into opening the attached file and divulging sensitive information. Such emails fall under the category of phishing attempts, and recipients are advised to disregard them.

More about the "Bonbleo Corp." scam email

The email, purportedly sent by a purchasing specialist at Bonbleo Corp., requests the recipient to provide the best offer for a purchase order related to a spring field project in Berghofen, Dortmund. It urges the recipient to respond with an invoice containing bank details, the proposed delivery date, and information about the FOB/CIF Port.

Despite its seemingly official tone, this email is identified as a phishing attempt. The sender, who claims to represent the legitimate company Bonbleo Corp., aims to deceive recipients into opening the attached file named "P.O order-November2023_xls.shtml" (its name may vary) and disclosing sensitive information.

Upon accessing the attachment, individuals encounter a fraudulent sign-in form prompting them to input their email account login credentials (email address and password). When scammers gain access to stolen email account login credentials, they can engage in various malicious activities with potentially severe consequences.

One common exploitation is unauthorized access to the victim's email account, allowing the perpetrators to monitor and intercept sensitive information. This could include personal conversations, financial transactions, or confidential documents, providing scammers with valuable data for identity theft or other fraudulent purposes.

Moreover, scammers may use the compromised email account to launch phishing attacks on the victim's contacts. By sending deceptive emails from the victim's trusted email address, scammers can trick friends, family, or colleagues into disclosing sensitive information or clicking on malicious links.

Additionally, scammers may try to use the stolen login credentials to access other accounts. Many individuals use the same or similar passwords across multiple platforms, making it easier for scammers to gain access to additional sensitive accounts, such as banking, social media, or e-commerce platforms.

Threat Summary:

Name	Bonbleo Corp. Email Scam
Threat Type	Phishing, Scam, Social Engineering, Fraud
Fake Claim	Email includes a purchase order
Attached File	P.O order-November2023_xls.shtml (its name may vary)
Detection Names (Attachment)	Avast (HTML:Phishing-CTV [Phish]), Combo Cleaner (Generic.Fake.Login.G.ED199059), ESET-NOD32 (HTML/Phishing.Agent.DZH), Fortinet (HTML/Phishing.E223!tr), Ikarus (Phishing.HTML.Doc), Full List Of Detections (VirusTotal)
Disguise	Letter from Bonbleo Corporation
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 share common traits designed to deceive recipients. They often use urgent language, mimic the appearance of legitimate communication, and include links or attachments leading to fraudulent content. These emails exploit social engineering tactics by impersonating trustworthy entities to manipulate users into revealing sensitive information or taking unintended actions, such as executing malware.

Some examples of phishing emails are "Requirements For Your Inbox Delivery Email Scam", "Password Reset Confirmation Email Scam", and "Your Netflix Membership Has Expired Email Scam".

How do spam campaigns infect computers?

Users can infect computers via email by inadvertently opening malicious attachments or clicking on links in emails. These emails often appear legitimate but contain malware or lead to fraudulent websites designed to exploit vulnerabilities in the user's system.

In most cases, cybercriminals use files like malicious executables (.exe, .msi), documents (like .doc and .pdf) with embedded macros, and compressed files (.zip, .rar) to trick users into infecting computers via email.

How to avoid installation of malware?

Refrain from opening email attachments or clicking on links from unknown or suspicious senders. Ensure your operating system and antivirus software are up to date, as updates often include security patches. Be cautious when downloading software, and only use reputable sources like official pages and reputable stores.

Do not trust ads, pop-ups, links, download buttons, and similar content on shady websites. Avoid agreeing to receive notifications from suspicious sites. Consider employing additional security measures, such as ad-blockers and anti-malware tools, to enhance your computer's defense against potential threats.

If you have already opened malicious attachments, we recommend running a scan with Combo Cleaner Antivirus for Windows to automatically eliminate infiltrated malware.

Text presented in the "Bonbleo Corp." email letter:

Subject: New Order

Good day,

Please arrange to provide the best offer for below attached Purchase Order
The requirement for our spring field project in Berghofen,Dortmund.
Kindly get back to us on the below:

1) Proforma invoice with bank details

2) Delivery date

3) FOB/CIF Port

Thanks and have a nice day!

Best Regards,

--
Warm regards,
Purchasing Specialist
Bonbleo Corp.
Address: 2662  Berghofen,Dortmund., DE 91770
Tel: 49-768-3558
www.bonleocorp.com

Fake sign-in form in the attached file:

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Quick menu:

• What is Bonbleo Corp. 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?

You likely received a phishing email as scammers indiscriminately target a large number of email addresses, hoping to exploit individuals through deceptive tactics and fraudulent schemes.

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

Update the password for the impacted account or accounts to thwart unauthorized access. Inform your email service provider about the incident and keep a vigilant eye on your accounts for any signs of suspicious activities.

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

No, the file attached to this email does not contain malware. However, opening malicious attachments (and clicking malicious links) can lead to computer infections.

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

Opening an email poses no threat. However, system infection can occur when clicking links within the email or opening attached files.

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

Combo Cleaner can detect and eliminate nearly all recognized malware infections. It is important to note that sophisticated malware often conceals itself deeply within the system. Therefore, conducting a full system scan is essential to ensure removal.

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