How to spot fake emails like "Temu - Pending Package Delivery"
Written by Tomas Meskauskas on (updated)
What is "Temu - Pending Package Delivery"?
During our examination, we have determined that this email is a phishing attempt cleverly disguised as a notification from Temu, a legitimate online marketplace. Phishing emails are fraudulent letters crafted by scammers with the intention of deceiving unsuspecting recipients into divulging their personal information.
More about the "Temu - Pending Package Delivery" scam email
This phishing email bears the subject line "Attn: Please confirm your shipping-address" and purports to be related to a pending shipment from Temu. The email includes a section emphasizing a "PENDING PACKAGE DELIVERY" and urges the recipient to schedule the delivery by subscribing to push notifications.
It provides a tracking code, #TEM1539820X8 (it may vary), and encourages the recipient to schedule the delivery to avoid similar issues in the future. However, the entire content is deceptive, designed by malicious actors to trick recipients into interacting with the email and disclosing sensitive personal information.
When the "Schedule your delivery" button is clicked, a page is opened displaying a fabricated shipping history map along with a prompt to click the "Confirm" button for message access. Upon clicking "Confirm", users are prompted to respond to a series of questions and subsequently redirected to a phishing page where they are asked to enter personal information.
On that webpage, users are asked to furnish information, including their first and last name, address, postal code, city, phone number, and email address. It is probable that this page also prompts individuals to disclose their credit card details.
Scammers exploit the acquired personal information for various malicious purposes. They may engage in identity theft, using the gathered details to impersonate the victim and commit fraudulent activities. With stolen credit card details, scammers can make unauthorized purchases.
Additionally, scammers often sell the stolen information on the dark web, contributing to a thriving underground market for personal data.
It is crucial to note that the initial page accessed through the link in the phishing email seeks permission to display notifications. Granting permission for notifications on that page may lead to an influx of deceptive advertisements, directing users to identical or similar scams and fraudulent websites.
| Name | Temu - Pending Package Delivery Email Scam |
| Threat Type | Phishing, Scam, Social Engineering, Fraud |
| Fake Claim | Shipping address must be confirmed to receive a package |
| Related Domains | gotintuoffer[.]com, costens[.]info |
| Detection Names (gotintuoffer[.]com) | N/A (VirusTotal) |
| Detection Names (costens[.]info) | Avira (Phishing), Netcraft (Malicious), Full List Of Detections (VirusTotal) |
| Disguise | Notification from Temu (legitimate online marketplace) |
| 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. |
Similar scam emails in general
As a rule, emails of this kind share common traits such as deceptive subject lines, urgent calls to action, requests for personal information, and often contain spelling or grammar errors. They aim to manipulate recipients into divulging sensitive data or clicking on malicious links by creating a sense of urgency or importance.
Trusting such emails can lead to various issues, including identity theft, financial fraud, unauthorized access to personal accounts, and the compromise of sensitive information.
Examples of similar scams are "Email Authentication Expires", "IPS Pending Package Delivery", and "Microsoft Security Team - Password Expiration".
How do spam campaigns infect computers?
Users can inadvertently compromise their computers through email when interacting with emails containing malicious attachments, such as executable files (.exe), JavaScript files (.js), document files (.doc, .pdf, etc.), or other files. Malware can infiltrate computers upon downloading and opening these attachments.
Additionally, emails may feature deceptive links guiding users to fraudulent websites hosting malware. It is important to recognize that opening malicious files does not always lead to immediate computer infections. In certain cases, additional steps (like enabling macros commands in opened documents) are required to inject malware into systems.
How to avoid installation of malware?
Avoid opening links or attachments in suspicious (e.g., unexpected or irrelevant) emails from unknown addresses. Install and regularly update reputable antivirus and anti-malware software. Ensure that your operating system, antivirus software, and all applications are up to date. Download apps from trustworthy sources, such as official pages and app stores.
Do not click advertisements and pop-ups on suspicious websites, especially when they offer software updates or prizes or contain warnings related to system security. Never allow questionable pages to send notifications.
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 "Temu - Pending Package Delivery" email letter:
Subject: Attn: Please confirm your shipping-address
Shipment Pending - Temu Package
(1) PENDING PACKAGE DELIVERYSchedule your delivery and subscribe to our push notifications to avoid this from happening again!
Your tracking code:
# TEM1539820X8
Schedule your delivery
Appearance of the initial page (opened via the "Schedule your delivery" button) and phishing page (GIF):
Screenshot of this page:
Screenshot of the phishing page requesting for personal information:
Instant automatic malware removal:
Manual threat removal might be a lengthy and complicated process that requires advanced IT skills. Combo Cleaner is a professional automatic malware removal tool that is recommended to get rid of malware. Download it by clicking the button below:
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Quick menu:
- What is Temu - Pending Package Delivery 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?
Criminals dispatch identical letters to thousands of individuals, anticipating that someone will be deceived. These spam emails are not personal and are sent en masse.
I have provided my personal information when tricked by this email, what should I do?
Take immediate action if you have unwittingly provided personal information in response to a phishing email. Contact your bank to report the potential compromise of credit card details (if you have shared them). Additionally, consider reporting the incident to other appropriate authorities and keep a vigilant eye on your accounts for signs of identity theft or fraudulent activity.
I have downloaded and opened a malicious file attached to an email, is my computer infected?
The risk of computer infection depends on the type of the opened file. Certain file types, such as executable files or documents with macros, pose a higher risk of malware infection.
I have read the email but didn't open the attachment, is my computer infected?
Merely opening an email is entirely safe. System infections can occur when interacting with links within the email or opening attached files.
Will Combo Cleaner remove malware infections that were present in email attachment?
Combo Cleaner has the capability to identify and remove nearly all known malware. It is important to note that high-end malware often conceals itself deeply within the system. Therefore, performing a comprehensive system scan is essential.
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