Do not trust fake "SharePoint - ACH-Wire Authorization" emails

What kind of email is "SharePoint - ACH-Wire Authorization"?

Our inspection of the "SharePoint - ACH-Wire Authorization" email revealed that it is spam. This scam message uses an invoice and payroll themed lure to bait recipients into visiting a phishing website. Sites of this kind record provided information and send it to scammers.

"SharePoint - ACH-Wire Authorization" email scam overview

The spam email with the subject "ACH-Wire Authorization for Invoice9876545" (may vary) is presented as a notification regarding a file sent to the recipient via SharePoint. The document is identified as "Invoice9876545.pdf", which has ACH-Wire Authorization. The file is also identified or supposedly titled "Board Approved_payroll".

It must be emphasized that this email is fake, and it is in no way associated with any legitimate products or entities, including SharePoint or its developer – the Microsoft Corporation.

At the time of research, the "VIEW DOCUMENT" button in the email redirected to a website that was down. Keep in mind that this could be fixed in possible future releases of this spam campaign (i.e., emails will lead to functional webpages).

Mail of this kind promotes phishing sites, most commonly ones targeting email account log-in credentials. The websites often give a reason for visitors to enter their log-in credentials (passwords), or they are disguised as email sign-in pages.

Emails are especially sought after by cyber criminals since they tend to include incredibly sensitive information, which is particularly true of work accounts. Furthermore, stealing such an account may open an avenue for criminals to infect the corporate network with trojans, ransomware, and other malware.

What is more, access might be gained over the accounts/platforms registered through a compromised email. To expand on how the unauthorized access can be abused, scammers can steal account owners' identities (e.g., emails, messengers, chats, social media, etc.) and ask for loans or donations from contacts/friends/followers, promote scams, and spread malware by sharing malicious links or files.

Stolen finance-related accounts (e.g., e-commerce, digital wallets, money transferring, online banking, etc.) can be used to make fraudulent transactions and online purchases.

In summary, by trusting a spam email like "SharePoint - ACH-Wire Authorization" – users can experience system infections, severe privacy issues, financial losses, and identity theft.

If you have provided your account credentials to a phishing site or file – change the passwords of all possibly exposed accounts and inform their official support without delay.

Threat Summary:

Name	"SharePoint - ACH-Wire Authorization" phishing email
Threat Type	Phishing, Scam, Social Engineering, Fraud
Fake Claim	Recipient has been sent an invoice/payroll via SharePoint.
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. ▼ Download Combo Cleaner To use full-featured product, you have to purchase a license for Combo Cleaner. 7 days free trial available. Combo Cleaner is owned and operated by Rcs Lt, the parent company of PCRisk.com read more.

Phishing spam campaign examples

"Microsoft Office 365 - Password Notification", "Reserve Server", "SurePayroll", and "New Project Site" are just some of our newest articles on phishing emails.

These deceptive messages predominantly target log-in credentials, personally identifiable information, and finance-related data. However, other scams are promoted through spam mail as well, and it is utilized in malware distribution.

Various lures are used to gain recipients' trust, such as ones concerning financial documents, work projects, purchase orders, business offers, password expiration, account issues, undelivered messages, blackmail attempts, inheritances, lotteries, and so on.

Due to how prevalent spam mail is and how well-crafted it can be – we highly recommend approaching incoming emails, DMs/PMs, SMSes, and other messages with caution.

How do spam campaigns infect computers?

Spam campaigns proliferate malware through malicious files that can be attached to or linked inside the emails/messages. These files come in various formats, e.g., documents (PDF, Microsoft Office, Microsoft OneNote, etc.), archives (RAR, ZIP, etc.), executables (.exe, .run, etc.), JavaScript, and so on.

Merely opening such a file can be enough to trigger malware download/installation processes. However, some formats need extra actions to initiate system infection chains. For example, Microsoft Office files require users to enable macro commands (i.e., editing/content), while OneNote documents need them to click embedded links/files.

How to avoid installation of malware?

It is essential to treat incoming emails and other messages with caution. We advise against opening attachments or links present in dubious mail, as they can be infectious.

It must be mentioned that malware is proliferated using various methods. Therefore, we recommend vigilance when browsing since fraudulent and malicious online content typically appears genuine and innocuous.

Additionally, all downloads must be made from official and trustworthy sources. Another recommendation is to activate and update programs using functions/tools provided by legitimate developers, as illegal activation tools ("cracks") and third-party updaters may contain malware.

We must stress the importance of having a reputable anti-virus installed and kept updated. This software must be used to perform regular system scans and to remove 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 "SharePoint - ACH-Wire Authorization" spam email letter:

Subject: ACH-Wire Authorization for Invoice9876545

SharePoint

******** ACH-Wire Authorization for Invoice9876545.pdf. Please review and keep for your records.

Board Approved_payroll

******** Server.

VIEW DOCUMENT

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Quick menu:

• What is "SharePoint - ACH-Wire Authorization" 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, regardless of any relevant information that they may include. Any such data is primarily acquired through publicly available sources or phishing scams. This mail is sent out in large-scale operations – 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 – change the passwords of all potentially compromised accounts and inform their official support. And if you've disclosed other private information (e.g., ID card details, passport photos/scans, credit/debit card numbers, etc.) – immediately contact the appropriate authorities.

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; merely reading an email is harmless.

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 compromised. However, you might have avoided triggering an infection if it was a document (.doc, .xls, .one, .pdf, etc.). These formats may need additional user interaction to initiate malware download/installation (e.g., enabling macro commands, clicking embedded files/links, etc.).

Will Combo Cleaner remove malware infections present in email attachments?

Yes, Combo Cleaner is designed to scan computers and eliminate all kinds of threats. It can detect and remove most of the known malware infections. It must be emphasized that performing a complete system scan is crucial since high-end malicious programs tend to hide deep within systems.

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