Avoid getting scammed by fake "Abandoned ATM Master Card" emails
Written by Tomas Meskauskas on
What kind of email is "Abandoned ATM Master Card"?
Upon inspection of the "Abandoned ATM Master Card" email, we determined that it is spam. This letter informs the recipient that an "ATM Master Card" with their name has been found. The card has 15 million USD on it. There have been issues with delivering the card, and the recipient is encouraged to address them.
This mail likely operates as a phishing scam targeting private information, and it might also aim to trick recipients into sending funds to scammers.
"Abandoned ATM Master Card" email scam overview
The spam email with the subject "Greetings Dear Fund Owner" (may vary) refers to the recipient as "beneficiary". The letter is supposedly from the "Assistant Manager" of "Bank of America". It states that an abandoned "ATM Master Card" with $15 million on it has been discovered.
The card is in the recipient's name, and attempts have been made to deliver it to them. Constitutional issues have arisen, which prevented delivery due to the recipient failing to address problems relating to registration and taxes. The sender requests to reconfirm the shipping address and phone number to eliminate potential delivery setbacks.
It must be emphasized that all the information provided in this email is false, and this mail is not associated with any real individuals, Bank of America, Mastercard, or any other legitimate entities.
It is evident that "Abandoned ATM Master Card" targets sensitive information – addresses and telephone numbers. However, when a victim continues conversing with the scammer (who pretends to be an assistant manager of a bank), they may be asked to provide other personally identifiable data, such as ID card details or passport photos/scans.
The scam could also seek financial information like online bank log-in credentials (IDs/usernames and passwords), banking account details, credit/debit card numbers, etc.
Furthermore, since this spam email mentions taxes, this could be the excuse given to get victims to send money to scammers. Cyber criminals rely on difficult-to-trace methods to obtain funds, e.g., cryptocurrencies, gift cards, pre-paid vouchers, cash hidden in packages and shipped, etc. These methods decrease the chances of prosecution and victims getting their money back.
To summarize, by trusting an email like "Abandoned ATM Master Card" – users can experience severe privacy issues, financial losses, and even identity theft.
If you have disclosed personally identifiable or finance-related information – contact the appropriate authorities without delay. And if you have provided your log-in credentials – change the passwords of all possibly exposed accounts and inform their official support.
| Name | "Abandoned ATM Master Card" spam email |
| Threat Type | Phishing, Scam, Social Engineering, Fraud |
| Fake Claim | An ATM card in the recipient's name, with $15 million on it, has been discovered. |
| Disguise | Bank of America, Mastercard |
| 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. |
Spam campaigns in general
We have investigated thousands of deceptive emails; "Restore Email DNS", "Email Is Due For Renewal", "Reserve Bank of Australia", "Confirm Hotel Bank Account", "WeTransfer - You Have Received Files", "SharePoint Invoice", and "Rooming List For The Group" are just some of our latest articles on spam campaigns.
Various scams are facilitated through this mail, and it is also used to proliferate malware. While these emails are commonly plain and full of errors, they may also be competently constructed and even believably disguised as messages from genuine entities (e.g., corporations, companies, organizations, service providers, authorities, etc.).
Due to how prevalent spam mail is and how well-made it can be – we highly recommend treating incoming emails, DMs/PMs, SMSes, and other messages with care.
How do spam campaigns infect computers?
Spam campaigns are commonly utilized in malware distribution. These emails/messages have malicious files attached to or linked inside them. Virulent files can be documents (Microsoft Office, Microsoft OneNote, PDF, etc.), archives (ZIP, RAR, etc.), executables (.exe, .run, etc.), JavaScript, and so on.
Once a malicious file is executed, run, or otherwise opened – the infection chain is initiated. However, some formats require additional user interaction to jumpstart these processes. For example, Microsoft Office files require users to enable macro commands (i.e., editing/content, while OneNote documents need them to click on embedded links or files.
How to avoid installation of malware?
It is important to treat incoming emails and other messages with caution. Attachments or links found in dubious mail must not be opened, as they can be malicious. However, malware is not proliferated only through spam mail. Therefore, we advise vigilance while browsing, as fake and dangerous online content usually appears genuine and harmless.
Additionally, all downloads must be performed from official and trustworthy channels. Another recommendation is to activate and update programs using legitimate functions/tools, as those acquired from third-parties may contain malware.
We must stress the importance of having a dependable anti-virus installed and kept up-to-date. Security software must be used to run regular system scans and to remove detected threats/issues. 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 "Abandoned ATM Master Card" spam email letter:
Subject: Greetings Dear Fund Owner
Attention beneficiary
This is Miss. Katheryne Rosales, Assistant Manager bank Of America,
we discovered an abandoned ATM Master Card with loaded of $15 million dollars USD wrapped with your name,
but according to our constitution you were denied several times during the process of the delivering because you refused to take care of registration and tax fee from our bank institution.
However before the fund will be released to you, kindly reconfirm your delivery address with your phone number immediately so that we don't make an error or any obstacles on delivery process.
Contact us here : bamerica789@yahoo.com
Sincerely
Miss. Katheryne Rosales, Assistant Manager, bank Of America
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Quick menu:
- What is "Abandoned ATM Master Card" spam 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, even if they include details relevant to the recipients. Cyber criminals distribute this mail by the thousand with the hopes that at least some recipients will fall for their scams.
I have provided my personal information when tricked by this spam email, what should I do?
If you have disclosed your log-in credentials – change the passwords of all possibly compromised accounts and inform their official support without delay. However, if the provided information was of a different personal nature (e.g., ID card details, credit card numbers, etc.) – immediately contact the corresponding authorities.
I have read a spam email but didn't open the attachment, is my computer infected?
Merely opening/reading an email does not pose an infection threat; devices are compromised when malicious attachments or links are opened/clicked.
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. Malicious executables cause infections almost without fail. However, you might have avoided triggering this if it was a document (.doc, .xls, .one, .pdf, etc.). These formats may need extra user interaction to start downloading/installing malware (e.g., enabling macro commands, clicking embedded files/links, etc.).
Will Combo Cleaner remove malware infections present in email attachments?
Yes, Combo Cleaner is designed to scan computers and eliminate all kinds of threats. It can detect and remove most of the known malware infections. It must be emphasized that performing a full system scan is key since sophisticated malicious programs usually hide deep within systems.
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