How to identify phishing emails like "Purchase Order (PO) Confirmation"
Written by Tomas Meskauskas on
What is "Purchase Order (PO) Confirmation"?
During our inspection of the email, we found it to be a phishing attempt. The purpose of this email is to trick the recipient into believing they have received a letter regarding a purchase order and providing personal information. Recipients should ignore this email (not provide any requested details).
More about the "Purchase Order (PO) Confirmation" scam email
The phishing email, supposedly from Ji Wong, Sales Manager at YAOSH L&L (SHENZHEN) CO., LTD., requests the recipient to review an attached purchase order. The email emphasizes the urgency of the order and asks for a prompt response with prices and payment terms. It also includes contact details and an address to appear legitimate.
The file attached to this email, "PO# FCL-SL23-09 Yaosheng quotations SEA-FCL.XLS.htm" (its name may vary), is designed to present a fake Microsoft Excel sign-in form. This deceptive form is created to lure users into entering an email address and password, supposedly to view a document. However, there is no actual document and all the entered information is transmitted to scammers.
Scammers can misuse stolen login credentials to gain unauthorized access to the victim's email or other accounts. This could compromise the victim's financial, social media, and other online services. Additionally, scammers might use the accessed accounts to conduct further phishing attacks, send malicious links (or files), make fraudulent purchases, or perform other actions.
Additionally, scammers may sell the harvested information (e.g., details harvested from emails in the victim's email account) on the dark web.
| Name | Purchase Order (PO) Confirmation Email Scam |
| Threat Type | Phishing, Scam, Social Engineering, Fraud |
| Fake Claim | A purchase order is attached for review |
| Disguise | Letter from Ji Wong, Sales Manager at YAOSH L&L (SHENZHEN) CO., LTD. |
| 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
Phishing emails are designed to trick individuals into revealing sensitive information or even downloading malware. Users should be cautious, scrutinize unexpected messages, and avoid clicking suspicious links or opening attachments to avoid potential damages. Some examples of phishing emails are "Messages Have Been Temporarily Held", "Order Details", and "MetaMask Log-In Attempt".
How do spam campaigns infect computers?
Cybercriminals spread malware through emails by deceiving recipients into clicking on links or opening harmful attachments. These attachments might be executable files, MS Office documents, PDFs, compressed files, JavaScript files, and others. However, not every malicious file will immediately infect a computer upon being opened.
For example, malicious MS Office documents cannot cause harm unless users enable macro commands (allowing editing or content within the malicious documents). Links in deceptive emails can lead users to websites that either automatically download malware or trick them into downloading it themselves.
How to avoid installation of malware?
Always use official pages and app stores when downloading software and files. Do not use third-party downloaders, P2P networks, torrent sites, and similar sources for software downloads. Avoid clicking pop-ups, ads, and warnings on suspicious sites and opening links or attachments in unexpected or irrelevant emails from unknown addresses.
Additionally, use a reputable security tool to regularly scan your computer for threats and keep your operating system and all 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 "Purchase Order (PO) Confirmation" email letter:
Subject: PO# FCL-SL23-09 Yaosheng quotation SEA-FCL
Good Day -,How are you?, as we always hope all the best for you!
Please check and confirm our latest purchase order as attached for your review.
Of course, the order is urgent please.Urgently get back to me with prices and payment terms.
Thank you and best regards,
Ji Wong
Sales Manager
*********************************************************
YAOSH L& L (SHENZHEN) CO., LTD.
Block 1209,Dongfeng New Villa,Songgang Town,Shenzhen City,China
Post Code: 518105
Tel#: +86 755 2972 4409
Fax#: +86 755 2972 1105
The file attached to this email:
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Quick menu:
- What is Purchase Order (PO) Confirmation phishing 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 send identical emails to all recipients, hoping some will be deceived. These spam emails are generic and lack personal details.
I have provided my personal information when tricked by this email, what should I do?
If you have entered your login credentials on a phishing website, change the passwords for accounts that may be compromised. If one or more accounts already cannot be accessed, contact their support to report the incident.
I have downloaded and opened a file attached to this email, is my computer infected?
The file attached to this email does not contain malware. However, opening files in fraudulent emails can lead to computer infections (depending on the file type).
I have read the email but did not open the attachment, is my computer infected?
Opening an email alone is completely safe and poses no risk. The potential danger lies in opening attached files or links, which can lead to system infections.
Will Combo Cleaner remove malware infections that were present in email attachment?
Yes, Combo Cleaner can detect and eliminate nearly all known malware. However, advanced malware often hides deep within the system. Therefore, it is essential to run a full system scan.
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