Avoid losing your account via fake "Your Encrypted Voice Message" emails

What kind of email is "Your Encrypted Voice Message"?

After reviewing the "Your Encrypted Voice Message" email, we determined that it is spam. Presented as a notification regarding received voicemails, this phishing letter aims to trick recipients into disclosing their email account log-in credentials.

"Your Encrypted Voice Message" email scam overview

The spam email with the subject "New mail received Monday, 11/27/2023 1:55:49 p.m." (may vary) informs the recipient that they have been sent an encrypted voice message. This bogus letter then details the nonexistent voicemail. It must be stressed that this email is fake, and it is in no way associated with any legitimate service providers.

When we clicked the "Go to Voice Message" button, we were redirected to a phishing website that imitates the recipient's email account sign-in page. Despite its relatively legitimate appearance, this site is fake and records the information entered into it.

Victims of this spam mail risk more than just losing their email; these accounts are commonly used to register other content – hence, cyber criminals may also gain access to it.

To expand upon the potential misuse, scammers can steal the identities of socially-oriented account owners (e.g., emails, 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.

Furthermore, stolen finance-related accounts (e.g., online banking, money transferring, e-commerce, digital wallets, etc.) can be used to make fraudulent transactions and/or online purchases. What is more, confidential/compromising content found on compromised data storage or similar platforms – could be used for blackmail or other malicious purposes.

In summary, by trusting an email like "Your Encrypted Voice Message" – users may experience severe privacy issues, financial losses, and even identity theft.

If you have already typed your log-in credentials into a phishing webpage – immediately change the passwords of all possibly exposed accounts and inform their official support.

Threat Summary:

Name	"Your Encrypted Voice Message" phishing email
Threat Type	Phishing, Scam, Social Engineering, Fraud
Fake Claim	Recipient has been sent an encrypted voicemail.
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 examined countless spam emails; "Maersk Line email scam", "ACH-ELECTRONIC FUNDS TRANSFER", "Bonbleo Corp. email scam" – are just a couple examples of letters used for phishing.

It must be mentioned that deceptive emails/messages are used to facilitate various scams and even to proliferate malware. Spam letters can be plain and full of errors or be elaborately disguised as messages from genuine service providers, companies, institutions, authorities, and other entities.

How do spam campaigns infect computers?

Cyber criminals often use spam campaigns to distribute malware. These emails/messages can include virulent files as attachments or download links. Malicious files come in various formats, e.g., executables (.exe, .run, etc.), archives (ZIP, RAR, etc.), documents (Microsoft Office, Microsoft OneNote, PDF, etc.), JavaScript, and so forth.

When an infectious file is executed, run, or otherwise opened – the malware download/installation chain is triggered. Some formats might need additional user interaction 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 or links.

How to avoid installation of malware?

It is important to always treat incoming emails and other messages with caution. We advise against opening attachments or links found in suspicious/irrelevant mail, as they can be malicious. We recommend using Microsoft Office versions released after 2010 since they have the "Protected View" mode that prevents automatic macro execution.

It must be mentioned that malware is proliferated using various techniques. Therefore, we also advise being vigilant while browsing, as fraudulent and dangerous online content usually appears genuine and innocuous.

Furthermore, all downloads must be performed from official and verified sources. Another recommendation is to activate and update software using functions/tools provided by legitimate developers, 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 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 "Your Encrypted Voice Message" spam email letter:

Subject: New mail received Monday, 11/27/2023 1:55:49 p.m.

Your Encrypted Voice Message

Hi -

Your Caller just left you a message find details below:

Audio Note From:  770-783-0366
Date Received:  Monday, 11/27/2023 1:55:49 p.m.
Duration:  00:49
Reference:  C455HD

Go to Voice Message

Message encryption by Email Client.

Screenshot of the phishing website promoted by the "Your Encrypted Voice Message" spam campaign:

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Quick menu:

• What is "Your Encrypted Voice Message" 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. This mail is distributed in large-scale operations – therefore, 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 disclosed your account credentials – immediately change the passwords of all potentially compromised accounts and inform their official support. If you've provided other private information (e.g., ID card details, credit card numbers, etc.) – contact the corresponding authorities without delay.

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

Devices are infected when malicious attachments or links are opened/clicked; merely reading an email will not trigger these processes.

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

Whether the system was compromised might depend on the format of the opened file. If it was an executable (.exe, .run, etc.) – most likely, yes. However, you might have avoided an infection if it was a document (.doc, .xls, .pdf, .one, etc.). These formats can require additional actions to initiate malware download/installation processes (e.g., enabling macro commands, clicking embedded content, etc.).

Will Combo Cleaner remove malware infections present in email attachments?

Yes, Combo Cleaner is capable of detecting and eliminating practically all known malware infections. It must be mentioned that since high-end malicious programs usually hide deep within systems – performing a full system scan is key.

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