How to avoid falling for scams like "Visa Awards"

What is "Visa Awards"?

After examining the email, we determined that this is a lottery scam designed to deceive recipients into thinking they won a significant amount of money. This specific scam disguises itself as a notification from VISA AWARDS. Generally, scams of this nature are utilized with the intention of illicitly obtaining personal information and (or) money.

More about the "Visa Awards" scam email

This email is a classic lottery scam, falsely claiming the recipient has won €1,000,000 in the Visa Card Lottery Promotion 2024, supposedly co-sponsored by Google. The sender, posing as "VISA AWARDS", requests sensitive information such as full name, address, date of birth, and occupation under the guise of facilitating the prize claim.

The email employs common tactics like generic greetings, unverifiable contact information, and a threat of disqualification for misconduct to pressure recipients into complying. Recipients should be highly skeptical of unsolicited emails promising substantial prizes, as legitimate organizations do not typically notify winners in this manner.

It is crucial to avoid sharing personal information and report such emails as phishing attempts to prevent falling victim to scams designed to exploit individuals through false claims of winnings. Once armed with this information, scammers can engage in identity theft, financial fraud, or the sale of data on the black market.

Additionally, some scams may involve convincing recipients to make payments for bogus fees or expenses, ultimately resulting in financial loss for the targeted individuals.

Threat Summary:

Name	Visa Awards Email Scam
Threat Type	Phishing, Scam, Social Engineering, Fraud
Fake Claim	Recipients have won €1,000,000 in Visa Awards lottery
Disguise	Notification from VISA AWARDS regarding a winning
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

Emails of this type typically share common characteristics such as unsolicited prize notifications, requests for personal information, claims of lottery or sweepstakes winnings, generic greetings, unverifiable contact details, and a sense of urgency or threats to create a false sense of pressure.

These common elements serve as red flags, signaling potential scams designed to deceive recipients into divulging sensitive information or making financial transactions. More examples of phishing emails are "Microsoft Password System Reminder", "Email Security Notification", and "Official Invoice". Emails of this kind (phishing emails) can be employed to deliver malware.

How do spam campaigns infect computers?

Cybercriminals employ email as a vector for malware delivery by incorporating malicious links or attachments within the messages. When recipients interact with these elements - either by clicking on the links or opening the attachments - they inadvertently initiate the download of malware onto their computers. In the majority of instances, users unknowingly activate the malware themselves.

Malicious software can be concealed within a variety of file types, including executables (.exe), PDF documents (.pdf), scripts (.js, .vbs), archives (.zip, .rar), shortcuts (.lnk), MS Office files such as (.xls, .doc), installer packages (.msi, .dmg), and HTML files (.html, .htm).

Each can serve as a carrier for malware, exploiting the trust of unsuspecting users who may unknowingly activate the malicious code during their routine interactions with seemingly harmless email content.

How to avoid installation of malware?

Exercise caution when dealing with emails urging you to open links or attachments. Avoid accessing files or clicking on links within irrelevant or unexpected emails from unfamiliar addresses. Maintain a proactive approach by regularly updating both your operating system and installed software with the latest patches.

Employ trustworthy antivirus and anti-malware solutions. Steer clear of engaging with suspicious advertisements and refrain from downloading files from untrustworthy sources. When acquiring software, opt for official pages and reputable app stores to mitigate the risk of encountering malicious content.

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 "Visa Awards" email letter:

Subject: €1,000,000 Cash to be claimed!!! *05*

VISA AWARDS
Address-One Market Plaza, Suite 600 San Francisco, CA 94105 US

Phone: +1 (240) 795 2822

Congratulations! You have been selected as a winner in the Visa Card Lottery Promotion 2024, co-sponsored by Google. Your email address was confirmed through Google's internet software, and as a result, Visa Card International has approved you to receive a prize of €1,000,000 in the form of a Visa Card delivered to your home address.

We've carefully picked 10 participants from around the world for our Visa Card Promotions Program to encourage using Visa Cards globally. Your €1,000,000 funds are now in a Visa Card, and we're ready to finalize the process.

Claims Requirements:

1. Full Name--

2. Home Address:

3. Date of Birth--

4. Telephone Number--

5. Gender--

6. Occupation--

7. Country of Residence:

We kindly recommend that you get in touch with the Claims Administrator for any inquiries related to your claims. The administrator will be pleased to provide you with detailed guidelines to ensure a smooth claims process. Please be aware that the administrator reserves the right to disqualify any claims in the event of misconduct.

VISA AWARDS

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Quick menu:

• What is Visa Awards lottery scam?
• 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?

Scammers obtain email addresses through various means, including data breaches. They utilize mass-emailing techniques to send identical messages to thousands of recipients, aiming to trick individuals into falling for their scams.

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

If you have shared personal information due to a lottery scam, immediately contact your bank to secure your accounts. Also, report the scam to law enforcement. Additionally, refrain from responding to further communication from the scammer and educate yourself on recognizing and avoiding such scams in the future.

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

Opening a malicious file attached to an email can potentially infect your computer, with the risk varying based on the file type. Executable files like .exe pose a higher risk of introducing malware, while certain document files, such as MS Office documents, do not infect computers unless users enable macros commands.

I have sent cryptocurrency to the address presented in such email, can I get my money back?

Transactions of this nature are untraceable, making retrieval impossible or almost impossible.

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

Merely accessing an email is secure. However, potential risks emerge when clicking links or opening attachments within the email, as this may result in system infections.

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

Combo Cleaner has the capability to identify and eliminate nearly all recognized malware infections. It is essential to note that sophisticated malware can often conceal itself deeply within the system, necessitating a thorough system scan for successful detection and removal.

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