Do not trust fake "ACH-ELECTRONIC FUNDS TRANSFER" emails

What kind of email is "ACH-ELECTRONIC FUNDS TRANSFER"?

Upon reviewing the "ACH-ELECTRONIC FUNDS TRANSFER" email, we determined that it is spam. It claims that funds have been transferred to the email recipient's account. This information is fake and is merely used to trick recipients into providing their email log-in credentials to a phishing website.

"ACH-ELECTRONIC FUNDS TRANSFER" email scam overview

The spam email begins by stating that it is an ACH (Automated Clearing House) electronic funds transfer. The letter notifies of a received document titled "Deposit Confirmation" and the date of its receipt. The subject of the email lists the fund transfer as 13,456 USD.

It must be stressed that all the claims made by this email are false, and this mail is in no way associated with any legitimate service providers or other entities.

Hence, when the "View All Documents" link is clicked, it redirects to a phishing website. It imitates the recipient's email sign-in page. Log-in credentials entered into this site will be recorded and sent to scammers.

Cyber criminals can cause more significant damage than just the loss of an email. These accounts are used to register other platforms and services – to which access might be gained through hijacked emails.

To elaborate on the potential misuse, scammers can steal the identities of social account owners (e.g., emails, social networking, social media, messengers, etc.) and ask the contacts/friends/followers for loans or donations, promote scams, and even proliferate malware by sharing malicious files/links.

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

What is more, any sensitive/compromising content found on data storage or similar platforms – could be used for blackmail or other nefarious purposes.

In summary, by trusting an email like "ACH-ELECTRONIC FUNDS TRANSFER" – users can experience serious privacy issues, financial losses, and even identity theft.

If you have already provided log-in credentials – immediately change the passwords of all possibly exposed accounts and contact their official support.

Threat Summary:

Name	"ACH-ELECTRONIC FUNDS TRANSFER" phishing email
Threat Type	Phishing, Scam, Social Engineering, Fraud
Fake Claim	Recipient has been transferred $13,456
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

We have investigated countless spam emails; "Bonbleo Corp. email scam", "Requirements For Your Inbox Delivery", "Password Reset Confirmation", "Your Password Is Due For Renewal", and "Netflix - Update Your Account Information" are merely some examples of ones used for phishing.

Spam mail is used to promote various scams, and it is also used to spread malware. While infamous for being riddled with errors, spam emails may be competently disguised as messages from legitimate companies, service providers, institutions, authorities, and other entities.

Due to how widespread spam mail is and how well-made it can be – we strongly recommend treating incoming emails, DMs/PMs, SMSes, and other messages with care.

How do spam campaigns infect computers?

Spam campaigns are commonly used to proliferate malware. Deceptive emails/messages can have virulent files attached to or linked inside them. These files can be documents (Microsoft Office, Microsoft OneNote, PDF, etc.), executables (.exe, .run, etc.), archives (ZIP, RAR, etc.), JavaScript, and so forth.

Upon being opened – malicious files initiate malware download/installation processes. Some formats may need additional interaction to jumpstart infection chains. For example, Microsoft Office files require users to enable macro commands (i.e., editing/content), while OneNote documents need them to click on embedded files or links.

How to avoid installation of malware?

We strongly recommend exercising caution with incoming emails and other messages. Attachments or links found in suspect mail must not be opened, as they can be malicious. Another recommendation is to use Microsoft Office versions released after 2010 since they have the "Protected View" mode that prevents automatic macro execution.

However, malware is not proliferated exclusively via spam mail. Therefore, we also advise being careful while browsing since fake and dangerous online content usually appears legitimate and harmless.

Additionally, all downloads must be performed from official and trustworthy channels. It is just as important to activate and update software using genuine functions/tools, as illegal activation tools ("cracks") and third-party updaters may contain malware.

We must emphasize that having a reputable anti-virus installed and kept updated is essential for device/user safety. Security programs must be used to run regular system scans and to remove detected threats. 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 "ACH-ELECTRONIC FUNDS TRANSFER" spam email letter:

Subject: ACH Funds Transfer $13,456 to -

ACH-ELECTRONIC FUNDS TRANSFER®

 

Documents

 

Document Name  
Deposit Confirmation     

Received Date  
11/27/2023 12:39:04 p.m.

View All Documents

Screenshot of the phishing website promoted by the "ACH-ELECTRONIC FUNDS TRANSFER" spam campaign:

Another example of a Electronic Funds Transfer-themed spam email:

Text presented within:

Subject: Outstanding Payment

 

Greetings -,

Attached is a PDF Remittance Advice indicating the invoices we have paid through electronic funds transfer.

Please reply to this email with any problems.

Thank you,

Best Regards.

Screenshot of the attached HTML document designed for phishing purposes:

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Quick menu:

• What is "ACH-ELECTRONIC FUNDS TRANSFER" 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 emails in mass-scale campaigns with the hopes that at least some recipients will fall for their scams; these messages are not personal.

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

If you have disclosed your log-in credentials – immediately change the passwords of all possibly compromised accounts and inform their official support. However, if you've provided other private data (e.g., ID card details, passport scans/photos, 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/reading an email is harmless. Devices are compromised 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 was infected. However, you might have avoided this if it was a document (.doc, .xls, .pdf, .one, etc.). These formats may need additional interaction to initiate malware download/installation chains (e.g., enabling macro commands, clicking embedded content, etc.).

Will Combo Cleaner remove malware infections present in email attachments?

Yes, Combo Cleaner is designed to scan computers and eliminate threats. It can detect and remove practically all known malware infections. Note that high-end malicious software typically hides deep within systems – therefore, running a complete system scan is paramount.

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