Avoid getting scammed by fake "Grants And Loans By The World Bank" emails

What kind of email is "Grants And Loans By The World Bank"?

After reading the "Grants And Loans By The World Bank" email, we determined that it is spam. The letter states that the recipient is eligible to receive a grant or loan from a project formed in response to current world events.

It must be stressed that the information in this email is false, and this mail is not associated with the World Bank Group (WBG) or its member – the International Finance Corporation (IFC).

"Grants And Loans By The World Bank" email scam overview

The spam email with the subject "+=From IFC World Bank Group=+" (may vary) is presented as a message from the World Bank Group (WBG) announcing news from its member – the International Finance Corporation (IFC).

The announcement concerns a project offering grants and loans. This fund was created to alleviate the economic situation caused by the War in Ukraine. Allegedly, the WBG is offering this financial support to individuals, businesses, and Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs).

If the recipient is facing financial difficulties, starting or expanding their business, or requires resources to sustain themselves – they are invited to respond to the letter in order to get more information on receiving a grant or loan.

It must be reiterated that the claims made by this email are false, and this mail is in no way associated with any real individuals, WBG, IFC, or any other legitimate entities.

Typically, spam mail of this kind seeks sensitive information or money directly. Personally identifiable details (e.g., passport scans/photos, ID card data, etc.) are targeted most often, and they can be used to steal victims' identities or carry out other nefarious activities.

This type of lure (promise of funds) is rarely used to seek log-in credentials (e.g., online banking, digital wallets, e-commerce, emails, social networking, etc.).

These scams commonly aim to deceive victims into sending money to scammers. Cyber criminals give legitimate-sounding reasons for this, such as paying taxes, transaction fees, or similar. Prosecution possibilities and money retrieval are hindered by scammers relying on difficult-to-trace methods to acquire funds (e.g., cash hidden in packages and shipped, gift cards, prepaid vouchers, cryptocurrencies, etc.).

To summarize, victims of spam mail like "Grants And Loans By The World Bank" can experience severe privacy issues, financial losses, and even identity theft.

If you have already disclosed your personally identifiable or finance-related information – immediately contact the appropriate authorities. And if you've provided your log-in credentials – change the passwords of all possibly compromised accounts and inform their official support without delay.

Threat Summary:

Name	"Grants And Loans By The World Bank" spam email
Threat Type	Phishing, Scam, Social Engineering, Fraud
Fake Claim	Recipient is eligible to receive a grant or loan.
Disguise	World Bank Group (WBG), International Finance Corporation (IFC)
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.
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Spam campaigns in general

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This mail is used to facilitate a wide variety of scams, ranging from advance fee to phishing. It is also utilized in malware proliferation. Various lures are used to gain recipients' trust. The end goal is to generate revenue at victims' expense, yet how this purpose is achieved varies greatly.

Spam emails are often riddled with grammatical/spelling errors, but they can also be competently crafted and even convincingly disguised as messages from genuine entities (e.g., organizations, institutions, companies, service providers, authorities, etc.).

How do spam campaigns infect computers?

Spam campaigns are widely used in malware distribution. These emails/messages can include virulent files as attachments or download links. Infectious files can be archives (RAR, ZIP, etc.), executables (.exe, .run, etc.), documents (Microsoft Office, Microsoft OneNote, PDF, etc.), JavaScript, and so on.

Once a malicious file is opened – the infection chain is triggered. However, some formats require additional actions to begin downloading/installing malware. For example, Microsoft Office files need users to enable macro commands (i.e., editing/content), while OneNote documents require them to click on embedded links or files.

How to avoid installation of malware?

We highly recommend exercising caution with incoming emails and other messages. Attachments or links found in suspicious/irrelevant mail must not be opened, as they can be malicious.

It must be mentioned that malware is not distributed only through spam mail. Therefore, we advise being vigilant while browsing since fake and dangerous online content typically appears genuine and harmless.

Another recommendation is to download only from official and verified channels. All programs must be activated and updated using legitimate functions/tools, as illegal activation ("cracking") tools and third-party updaters can contain malware.

We must emphasize that having a reputable anti-virus installed and kept updated is paramount to device/user safety. Security software must be used to perform 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 "Grants And Loans By The World Bank" spam email letter:

Subject: +=From IFC World Bank Group=+

Dear Sir/Madam,

We are reaching out to you with important news from the International Finance Corporation (IFC), a subsidiary of the World Bank. In response to the recent impact of the situation between Russia and Ukraine on the global economy, the World Bank is offering grants and loans to support individuals, businesses, and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) affected by these challenges.

The grants and loans provided by the World Bank aim to alleviate the economic repercussions of the crisis and help individuals, businesses, and NGOs navigate through these uncertain times. Whether you are facing financial difficulties, exploring new business opportunities, or seeking resources to sustain your livelihood, the World Bank is committed to aiding those in need.

 

We understand the significant impact that current events can have on economies worldwide, and we are dedicated to supporting individuals, businesses, and NGOs in overcoming these challenges. The grants and loans offered by the World Bank are designed to provide relief, and promote economic resilience in the face of adversity.

If you, your business, or your organization need financial support or resources to navigate the current economic landscape, we encourage you to explore the opportunities available through the World Bank. Our goal is to empower individuals, businesses, and NGOs to thrive and succeed, even in challenging circumstances.

For more information on how to access grants and loans from the World Bank, please reply to this email. Our dedicated team is ready to assist.

Together, we can work towards a brighter economic future for all.

Sincerely,

Makhtar Diop
Managing Director

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Quick menu:

• What is "Grants And Loans By The World Bank" 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, regardless of any relevant details that they may include. This mail is sent out in large-scale campaigns – therefore, 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 potentially compromised accounts and inform their official support. However, if you've disclosed other private data (e.g., ID card details, passport photos/scans, credit/debit card numbers, etc.) – contact the corresponding 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; reading an email poses no infection threat.

I have downloaded and opened a file attached to a spam email, is my computer infected?

Whether the device was compromised might depend on the format of the opened file. Executables (.exe, .run, etc.) cause infections almost without fail upon being opened. While some other formats – like documents (.doc, .xls, .one, .pdf, etc.) – may need additional actions to initiate infection processes, such as enabling macro commands, clicking embedded files/links, and so on.

Will Combo Cleaner remove malware infections present in email attachments?

Yes, Combo Cleaner is capable of detecting and eliminating practically all known malware infections. It must be stressed that running a complete system scan is essential since high-end malicious software tends to hide deep within systems.

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