How to identify scams like "Lee Shau-Kee Charitable Foundation"
Written by Tomas Meskauskas on
What is "Lee Shau-Kee Charitable Foundation" scam?
During our inspection of the email, we uncovered that it is a phishing email. This email is disguised as a notification of grant donation. The purpose of this scam email is to trick recipients into disclosing personal information and (or) transferring money. Recipients should ignore this email to avoid potential harm.
More about the "Lee Shau-Kee Charitable Foundation" scam email
This scam email falsely claims that the recipient has been randomly selected to receive a £2,000,000 grant from the Lee Shau-Kee Charitable Foundation. It pretends to be from a business magnate, Lee Shau-kee, and instructs the recipient to contact the provided email address (leeshau-keefoundati@hotmail.com) for further instructions.
Typically, scammers behind such emails aim to extract money by convincing recipients to pay fees for processing or taxes to claim the supposed grant. They may also request personal or financial information like names, surnames, addresses, social security numbers, credit card details, ID card information, or details.
Either way, individuals who fall such for such scams never receive any money. They can become victims of identity theft, experience monetary loss from paying fake fees or processing charges, or encounter other issues. Therefore, it is strongly recommended to be careful with such emails and verify their legitimacy before responding or taking other action.
| Name | Lee Shau-Kee Charitable Foundation Email Scam |
| Threat Type | Phishing, Scam, Social Engineering, Fraud |
| Fake Claim | The recipient has been selected to receive £2,000,000.00 |
| Disguise | Notification of grant from Lee Shau-Kee Foundation |
| 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
In conclusion, scam emails promising large sums of money are designed to deceive recipients. By requesting personal information or payment under false pretenses, these scams pose significant risks, including identity theft and financial loss. Also, emails of this kind can be used to deliver malware.
More examples of similar emails are "British Columbia Lottery Email Scam", "Department For Work And Pension (DWP) Email Scam", and "Global Greengrants Fund Lottery Email Scam".
How do spam campaigns infect computers?
Threat actors distribute malware via email by sending malicious files or links to recipients. Computers become infected when users download and execute malware by performing certain steps, like downloading and opening malicious executables or enabling macros in malicious MS Office documents. Opening websites deigned to download malware automatically can also result in computer infections.
More examples of files used to deliver malware are JavaScript files, PDF documents, archives like ZIP and RAR, and ISO files.
How to avoid installation of malware?
Ensure your operating system, browser, and other software are always up to date. Download software and files only from reputable and official websites or app stores. Avoid opening downloads from other sources (e.g., P2P networks, third-party downloaders) or files and links in irrelevant or unexpected emails from unknown addresses.
Furthermore, avoid interacting with ads, pop-ups, buttons, and links on questionable pages. Regularly scan your computer for threats using a reputable security tool. 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 "Lee Shau-Kee Charitable Foundation" email letter:
Subject: Notification of grant donation on behalf of Lee
Dear Beneficiary,We hope this email finds you well. on behalf of Lee Shau-kee the benefactor, a business magnate, investor and philanthropist, your email has been selected randomly to receive a grant donation of £2,000,000.00 (Two Million British Pounds) from the Lee Shau-Kee Charitable Foundation.
For claims enquiries, forward this notification message to the email below
Email: leeshau-keefoundati@hotmail.com
Regards,
Stephen Huang
Philanthropy Manager
Lee Shau-Kee Foundation
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Quick menu:
- What is Lee Shau-Kee Charitable Foundation 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 often send the same email to numerous addresses simultaneously. These emails are typically generic and lack personalization, with no specific information directly related to the recipient. Overall, it is very likely that you are not the only one who received the same email.
I have provided my personal information when tricked by this email, what should I do?
If you have shared any account credentials, make sure to change all your passwords right away. If you have given out other personal information, like credit card details or ID card information, promptly contact the relevant authorities to address the issue.
I have downloaded and opened a file attached to an email, is my computer infected?
Malicious executable files can infect your computer as soon as they are opened. However, other file types, such as MS Office documents, typically require you to enable macros or perform other actions to trigger the infection. Therefore, the risk of infection depends on the specific type of file you have opened.
I have read the email but did not open the attachment, is my computer infected?
Simply opening an email is completely harmless. However, clicking on links within the email or opening attached files can lead 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. Remember that advanced malware often hides deep within the system, making a full system scan necessary for detection and removal.
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