How to identify scams like "SWIFT - Outward Wire Transfer Confirmation"
Written by Tomas Meskauskas on
What is "SWIFT - Outward Wire Transfer Confirmation"?
We have analyzed this email and uncovered that it is a scam email designed to trick recipients into disclosing personal information. Emails of this type are classified as phishing emails. In this particular case, scammers use a fraudulent attachment to extract information. Recipients should ignore this email.
More about the "SWIFT - Outward Wire Transfer Confirmation" scam email
This phishing email masquerades as a notification about a wire transfer. It states that the file attached to it, "SWIFT-103-OTT1036230846280.shtml" (its name may vary), is an outward wire transfer confirmation. Additionally, the email claims to be from the SWIFT Services Centre Team.
The attached file contains instructions for users to confirm their identity to access a document by entering their email account address and password (login credentials). With obtained email account login credentials, scammers can gain unauthorized access to the victims' email account, which can be used to steal sensitive information.
They may also use the account to send phishing emails to contacts and further spread their scam. Additionally, they may access other accounts linked to the email (or accounts using the same or similar login credentials) or sell all the obtained information to third parties.
Thus, recipients are strongly advised to be careful with suspicious emails and not send personal details or enter them on the provided websites.
| Name | SWIFT - Outward Wire Transfer Confirmation Email Scam |
| Threat Type | Phishing, Scam, Social Engineering, Fraud |
| Fake Claim | The recipient has received an outward wire transfer confirmation |
| Disguise | Letter from SWIFT Services Centre Team |
| Detection Names (Attachment) | Avast (HTML:Phishing-DMB [Phish]), Combo Cleaner (Trojan.GenericKD.73756344), ESET-NOD32 (HTML/Phishing.Gen), Fortinet (JS/Phish.C8B6!tr), Huorong (Trojan/JS.Agent.cd), Full List Of Detections (VirusTotal) |
| 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. |
Conclusion
Phishing emails are deceptive attempts to trick recipients into revealing sensitive information. Typically, scammers aim to achieve their goals by mimicking legitimate companies, organizations, or other entities. Fake emails can also be used to trick users into downloading malicious software. Thus, it is important to verify the legitimacy of emails before taking any action.
Some examples of phishing campaigns are "Phone Number Was Added To Your Account", "Purchase Order (PO) Confirmation", and "MetaMask Log-In Attempt".
How do spam campaigns infect computers?
Cybercriminals behind emails that they use to spread malware send malicious attachments or links. Clicking on links in these emails might direct users to fake websites that either trick them into downloading malware or pages that automatically download it. The attachments could be various types of files, such as Word documents, PDFs, compressed archives, scripts, or executable files.
Depending on the file type, simply opening it or performing actions like enabling macros in a malicious document can execute malware on computers.
How to avoid installation of malware?
Avoid opening links or attachments in unexpected and (or) irrelevant emails from unknown senders. Always download programs and files from official websites or reputable app stores. Be careful with downloads from third-party downloaders, peer-to-peer networks, torrent sites, and similar sources. Exercise caution with pop-ups, ads, and alerts on suspicious websites.
Additionally, regularly scan your computer with a reliable security tool and keep your operating system and all software up to date to protect against threats. 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 "SWIFT - Outward Wire Transfer Confirmation" email letter:
Subject: [Transfer Swift 42907]
Dear sir,
Attached is your Outward wire Transfer confirmation as instructed by our customer
Rgds,
SWIFT Services Centre Team,Mall Center Facing Beyblos Bank Ltd
File attached to this email ("SWIFT-103-OTT1036230846280.shtml"):
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Quick menu:
- What is SWIFT - Outward Wire Transfer Confirmation phishing 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?
Fraudsters send identical emails to thousands of recipients, hoping that at least one person will fall for the scam. These spam messages are impersonal and generic.
I have provided my personal information when tricked by this email, what should I do?
If you have disclosed any account credentials, update all your passwords as soon as possible. If you are unable to access your account, reach out to support and 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. Nevertheless, cybercriminals can use attachments to spread malware, and opening them can lead to computer infections.
I have read the email but did not open the attachment, is my computer infected?
No, opening an email by itself is completely harmless. Clicking links within the email or opening attached files is what leads to system infections.
Will Combo Cleaner remove malware infections that were present in email attachment?
Yes, Combo Cleaner can detect and remove nearly all known malware infections. However, sophisticated malware often hides deep within the system, so it is required to perform a full system scan to ensure protection from such threats.
Outstanding!
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