Avoid getting scammed by fake "Invoice For Our Recent Order" emails
Written by Tomas Meskauskas on
What kind of email is "Invoice For Our Recent Order"?
After examining the "Invoice For Our Recent Order" email, we determined that it is spam. This letter requests to review the linked invoice, thus luring recipients into visiting a phishing site that targets account log-in credentials.
"Invoice For Our Recent Order" email scam overview
The spam email with the subject "Re:Re:New Month Order - ARC Enterprises" (may vary) claims to include an invoice for the sender's most recent order. The recipient is asked to review the document and inform the sender if they have any questions or require additional information.
It must be stressed that this email is fraudulent and in no way associated with any real individuals or entities.
At the time of research, the links in this letter redirected to a website that was down. Note that this could be fixed in potential future releases of this campaign (i.e., emails will redirect to operational webpages). Typically, spam mail of this kind endorses phishing sites that target email account log-in credentials.
Data entered into phishing pages is recorded and sent to cyber criminals. Emails are widely targeted since they can include sensitive information and may be used to gain access to the accounts/platforms/services registered through them.
To expand upon the potential abuse, scammers can steal the identities of account owners (e.g., emails, social networking, social media, messengers, chats, etc.) and request loans or donations from contacts/friends/followers, promote scams, and proliferate malware by sharing malicious links/files.
Hijacked finance-related accounts (e.g., e-commerce, money transferring, online banking, etc.) can be used to make fraudulent transactions and online purchases.
To summarize, victims of scam mail like "Invoice For Our Recent Order" can experience severe privacy issues, financial losses, and even identity theft.
If you have provided your log-in credentials to a phishing website/file – immediately change the passwords of all possibly exposed accounts and inform their official support.
Name | "Invoice For Our Recent Order" phishing email |
Threat Type | Phishing, Scam, Social Engineering, Fraud |
Fake Claim | Recipient was sent a recent order invoice. |
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. |
Phishing spam campaign examples
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These emails predominantly target log-in credentials (usernames/passwords), personally identifiable information (ID card details, passport scans/photos, etc.), and finance-related data (banking account details, credit/debit card numbers, etc.). However, spam is used to promote various scams and to distribute malware.
While the commonly held belief that spam mail is shoddily crafted and rife with spelling/grammatical errors is not untrue, it is not always the case. The emails can be competently made and even believably disguised as messages from genuine entities (e.g., companies, organizations, service providers, authorities, etc.).
How do spam campaigns infect computers?
Cyber criminals often use spam campaigns to spread malware. Deceptive emails/messages include malicious files as attachments or download links. These files can be archives (ZIP, RAR, etc.), executables (.exe, .run, etc.), documents (PDF, Microsoft Office, Microsoft OneNote, etc.), JavaScript, and so on.
Opening an infectious file can be enough to initiate the malware download/installation chain. Some formats require additional user interaction to jumpstart infection processes. For example, Microsoft Office files need users to enable macro commands (i.e., editing/content), while OneNote documents require them to click on embedded files or links.
How to avoid installation of malware?
It is essential to treat incoming emails, PMs/DMs, SMSes, and other messages with caution. We advise against opening attachments or links present in dubious/irrelevant mail, as they can be harmful or virulent.
However, malware is not proliferated exclusively via spam mail. Therefore, we recommend vigilance when browsing, as the Internet is rife with deceptive and malicious content.
Furthermore, all downloads must be performed from official and verified sources. Another recommendation is to activate and update software utilizing legitimate functions/tools, as illegal activation ("cracking") tools and third-party updates can contain malware.
We must emphasize the importance of having a dependable anti-virus installed and kept up-to-date. Security programs must be used to run regular system scans and to remove detected threats and 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 "Invoice For Our Recent Order" spam email letter:
Subject: Re:Re:New Month Order - ARC Enterprises
Good Day dear,
I hope this message finds you well.
I am writing to provide you with the invoice for our recent order. You can view and download the invoice using the following URL:
[View Invoice-694438 URL Here]
[Download Invoice-694438]
Please review the invoice at your earliest convenience and let me know if you have any questions or need further information.
Thank you for your prompt attention to this matter. We appreciate your continued support and look forward to our ongoing collaboration.
Best regards,
Jane Doe
Purchasing Manager
ARC Enterprises
jane.doe@arc-enterprises.com
(545) 128-4768
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Quick menu:
- What is "Invoice For Our Recent Order" 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?
Spam emails are not personal, even if they include details relevant to the recipients. This mail is sent out 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 disclosed your log-in credentials – change the passwords of all potentially exposed accounts and inform their official support. And if you've provided other private information (e.g., ID card details, credit card numbers, etc.) – contact their appropriate authorities without delay.
I have read a spam email but didn't open the attachment, is my computer infected?
Merely reading an email is harmless; devices are infected when malicious attachments or links are opened/clicked.
I have downloaded and opened a file attached to a spam email, is my computer infected?
Whether your system was infected might depend on the format of the opened file. Once opened, executables (.exe, .run, etc.) cause infections almost without fail. Some other formats – like documents (.doc, .xls, .one, etc.) – might need extra actions to initiate malware download/installation, such as enabling macros, clicking embedded content, etc.
Will Combo Cleaner remove malware infections present in email attachments?
Combo Cleaner is designed to scan devices and eliminate all manner of threats. It can detect and remove most of the known malware infections. Keep in mind that sophisticated malicious software tends to hide deep within systems – therefore, running a full system scan is paramount.
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