How to identify fraudulent emails like "International Human Rights Organisation Compensation"
Written by Tomas Meskauskas on
What is "International Human Rights Organisation Compensation"?
Our analysis of the email has revealed that it is a phishing email. Scammers behind this email aim to trick recipients into believing that they can receive compensation from the International Human Rights Organisation. Their goal is to lure recipients into sending them personal information and (or) money.
More about the "International Human Rights Organisation Compensation" scam email
This scam email (with "urgent" subject line) claims that the recipient's name is among the top 10 individuals selected by the International Human Rights Organization for compensation. It informs the recipient that they are eligible for an ATM/Debit Card valued at $2.5 million USD.
The email requests that the recipient provide personal details, including their full name, address, phone number, and country, for the supposed release/dispatch of the card via a courier service. Recipients should ignore such email to avoid potential issues.
Scammers may use the provided information to commit identity theft, sell it to third parties, or misuse it for other malicious purposes. They may also claim that a processing or other fee is required to release compensation or send the ATM/Debit Card. In summary, trusting such scam emails can lead to a range of negative consequences for the victims.
| Name | International Human Rights Organisation Compensation Email Scam |
| Threat Type | Phishing, Scam, Social Engineering, Fraud |
| Fake Claim | The recipient can receive a large compensation |
| Disguise | Letter from International Human Rights Organisation |
| 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
Usually, scam emails promising large sums of money are designed to deceive recipients into revealing personal information and potentially paying fraudulent fees. It is important to recognize such schemes and avoid providing any personal details or making any payments. Vigilance and skepticism are essential to protect oneself from falling victim to these types of scams.
Some examples of similar scams are "British Columbia Lottery", "Global Greengrants Fund Lottery", and "Legal Right To Claim Estate". Fraudulent emails can also be used to trick users into infecting their computers with malware.
How do spam campaigns infect computers?
When threat actors deliver malware via email, they attach harmful files, such as malicious PDFs, MS Office documents, executables, JavaScript files, or compressed archives, or include malicious links in their messages. Computers become infected when users execute malware. It can be done in different ways, for instance, by opening malicious executable files or enabling macros in infected MS Office documents.
Recipients can also compromise their computers by clicking on links that lead to malicious websites. These sites are often designed to automatically download malware onto the user's device or prompt them to download and execute harmful files or programs.
How to avoid installation of malware?
Be careful with attachments and links in irrelevant or unexpected emails from unknown addresses. When downloading files and programs, use official sites and app stores. Never download pirated software, cracking tools, key generators, etc. Avoid interacting with pop-ups, ads, and similar content on questionable websites.
Additionally, regularly scan your system with a reliable security tool and keep your operating system and software up to date. 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 "International Human Rights Organisation Compensation" email letter:
Subject: urgent
--
Attention!!
Good day,
Your name is among the top 10 scammed victims listed by International Human Rights Organisation to be compensated with an ATM/DEBIT CARD valued $2.5 million Unites States of American Dollars ($2,500,000 USD).
You required to forward the following details below for immediate releasing/dispatching of your ATM/DEBIT CARD to you through any courier service company convenient to you.
1. Full Name:
2. Home/Office Address:
3. Direct Phone Number:
4. Country:Regards.
Mr. Michael Collins.
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Quick menu:
- What is International Human Rights Organisation Compensation 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?
Phishing emails are mass-distributed. Usually, they contain the same message and sent to thousands of recipients at once. These emails are non-personalized and generic.
I have provided my personal information when tricked by this email, what should I do?
If you have given out any account credentials, update all your passwords right away. If you have shared personal details like credit card information or ID card numbers, promptly notify the relevant authorities.
I have downloaded and opened a malicious file attached to an email, is my computer infected?
If the file was an executable, your system is very likely to be compromised. Nevertheless, you might have avoided infection if it was a document file (such as .pdf or .doc).
I have read the email but did not open the attachment, is my computer infected?
No, it is safe to open emails. Computers can only be infected via email through links or files.
Will Combo Cleaner remove malware infections that were present in email attachment?
Yes, Combo Cleaner can identify and remove almost all known malware infections. However, advanced malware may embed itself deeply within the system, so a full system scan is necessary to ensure complete removal.
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