Avoid getting scammed by fake "Mitsubishi Corp." emails
Written by Tomas Meskauskas on (updated)
What kind of email is "Mitsubishi Corp."?
After inspecting this "Mitsubishi Corp." email, we determined that it is spam. The fake message impersonates an order inquiry from "Mitsubishi Corporation USA".
This scam can operate in a variety of ways, most likely by targeting sensitive information or victims' funds directly. It must be emphasized that this email is fraudulent, and it is in no way associated with the actual Mitsubishi Group.
"Mitsubishi Corp." email scam overview
The spam email with the subject "ORDER INQUIRY" (may vary) states that "Mitsubishi Corporation USA" has an inquiry regarding the products offered by the recipient. The letter makes queries regarding pricing, factory capacity, production times, and shipping dates.
It must be reiterated that this mail is a scam that is not associated with the Mitsubishi Group or any other legitimate entities.
This spam mail aims to trick recipients into interacting with scammers. The end goal is to generate revenue, yet exactly how that is achieved differs between scams.
As the body of this "Mitsubishi Corp." letter is evidently targeted at individuals associated with entities offering products for sale, it may be that the cyber criminals aim to send malicious files to victims with the hopes of infecting company networks. Trojans, ransomware, or other malware could be used for a number of nefarious purposes, ranging from blackmail to ransom demands for encrypted file recovery.
Scammers could target account log-in credentials through phishing files/websites rather than data-stealing malware. Compromised accounts (e.g., emails, social networking, messengers, etc.) can be used to steal owners' identities and extract sensitive information from contacts, request loans or donations from friends/followers, promote scams, and spread malware.
Stolen finance-related accounts (e.g., e-commerce, digital wallets, online banking, etc.) can be used to make unauthorized transactions or online purchases.
Scammers can deceive victims into directly sending them money under the guise of paying taxes or various fees. Difficult-to-trace methods are used to obtain funds (e.g., cryptocurrencies, pre-paid vouchers, gift cards, cash hidden in packages and shipped, etc.), as relying on such lowers the chances of successfully prosecuting the criminals and of victims retrieving their money.
To summarize, by trusting an email like "Mitsubishi Corp." – victims can experience system infections, severe privacy issues, financial losses, and even identity theft.
If you believe that your network is infected – perform a full system scan with an anti-virus and eliminate all detected threats.
If you have disclosed your log-in credentials – change the passwords of all possibly exposed accounts and inform their official support without delay. And if you've provided personally identifiable or finance-related information to scammers – immediately contact the appropriate authorities.
Name | "Mitsubishi Corp." spam email |
Threat Type | Phishing, Scam, Social Engineering, Fraud |
Fake Claim | Recipient is contacted with a potential purchase order and inquired about their product. |
Disguise | Mitsubishi |
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 spam emails. They are used to promote various scams and to proliferate malware. This mail is often poorly made and rife with spelling/grammatical errors; however, it can be competently crafted and even believably disguised as messages from legitimate entities.
"Email Password Must Renew Soon", "Official Notification: Performance Evaluation Access", "Irrevocable Payment Order", "Purchase Order (PO) Confirmation", "SWIFT - Outward Wire Transfer Confirmation", "Por Este Medio Notifico La Presente Demanda", "Organizing A Foundation", and "Redundancies Across The Organization" are merely some of our latest articles on spam campaigns.
How do spam campaigns infect computers?
Cyber criminals commonly use spam campaigns to spread malware. Spam emails/messages can have infectious files attached to or linked inside them. These files come in various formats, e.g., documents (PDF, Microsoft Office, Microsoft OneNote, etc.), executables (.exe, .run, etc.), archives (ZIP, RAR, etc.), JavaScript, and so on.
Merely opening a malicious file can be enough to trigger malware download/installation. However, some formats need additional actions to jumpstart system infection 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/files.
How to avoid installation of malware?
We highly recommend exercising caution with incoming emails, DMs/PMs, SMSes, and other messages. Attachments or links found in dubious/irrelevant mail must not be opened, as they can be harmful or infectious.
However, malware is proliferated using various methods. Therefore, we advise vigilance when browsing since the Internet is full of deceptive and dangerous content.
Additionally, all downloads must be performed from official and trustworthy channels. Another recommendation is to activate and update programs using legitimate functions/tools, as illegal activation tools ("cracks") and third-party updaters can contain malware.
We must stress the importance of having a reputable anti-virus installed and kept updated. 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 "Mitsubishi Corp." spam email letter:
Subject: ORDER INQUIRY
Hello Sir/Madam,
This is Mr. Abid Hashim, from Mitsubishi Corporation USA.
We have a request for some items which you offer, and we are looking to place some purchase orders to receive inventory.
Could you please send your e-catalog/fob prices for our reference? Also, can you please advise what your factory capacity/production timelines are?
If we were to place an order in the next few weeks, what would be the earliest available ship date?
Waiting for your reply soon.
Best Regards,
John Robert.
Purchase Manager.
Mitsubishi Corporation
hxxps://www.mitsubishicorp.com/
Los Angeles Branch
333 S. Hope Street, Suite 1100, Los Angeles, CA 90071, U.S.A
Telephone +1-213-686-2800
Facsimile +1-213-787-2993
Another example of a Mitsubishi Corp.-themed spam email:
Text presented within:
Subject: ORDER INQUIRY
FYI,
This is Mrs. Mari Kogiso, from Mitsubishi Corporation.
We have a request for some items which you offer,
and we are looking to place some purchase orders to receive inventory.
Could you please send your current e-catalog/prices for our reference?
Also, can you please advise what your factory capacity/production timelines are?
If we were to place an order in the next few weeks, what would be the earliest available ship date?
Waiting for your reply soon.Best Regards,
Mrs. Mari Kogiso.
Sales Manager.
Mitsubishi Corporation
hxxps://www.mitsubishicorp.com/
Los Angeles Branch
333 S. Hope Street, Suite 1100, Los Angeles, CA 90071, U.S.A
Telephone +1-213-687-2800
Facsimile +1-213-687-2993
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Quick menu:
- What is "Mitsubishi Corp." 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. The inclusion of any such information is usually facilitated through publicly available sources or phishing scams. This mail is distributed in large-scale operations – hence, thousands of users receive identical or incredibly similar emails.
I have provided my personal information when tricked by this spam email, what should I do?
If you have provided your log-in credentials – immediately change the passwords of all possibly compromised accounts and inform their official support. And if you have disclosed other private information (e.g., passport photos/scans, ID card details, credit/debit card numbers, etc.) – contact relevant authorities without delay.
I have read a spam email but didn't open the attachment, is my computer infected?
Devices are infected when malicious attachments or links are opened/clicked – hence, reading an email poses no infection threat.
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 – the device was infected. However, you might have avoided this if it was a document (.doc, .xls, .one, .pdf, etc.). These formats may need additional user interaction to initiate system infection chains (e.g., enabling macros, clicking embedded links/files, etc.).
Will Combo Cleaner remove malware infections present in email attachments?
Yes, Combo Cleaner is designed to scan devices and eliminate all kinds of threats. It can detect and remove almost all known malware infections. Keep in mind that high-end malicious software usually hides deep within systems – therefore, running a full system scan is essential.
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