Avoid getting scammed by fake "Luciano Pavarotti Testament" emails
Written by Tomas Meskauskas on
What kind of email is "Luciano Pavarotti Testament"?
After inspecting the "Luciano Pavarotti Testament" email, we determined that it is spam. The letter claims that the recipient has been named as a beneficiary in the Will of the late great operatic tenor – Luciano Pavarotti.
It must be stressed that the claims made by this email are false, and this mail is not associated with Pavarotti's actual estate. This phishing email targets personally identifiable information.
"Luciano Pavarotti Testament" email scam overview
The email with the subject "Notification of Bequest" (may vary) states that the recipient has been named as a beneficiary in the Will of Luciano Pavarotti, who passed away in 2007.
As the late opera singer was a well-known humanitarian, this supposedly explains how the recipient was included in his Will to receive 50 million USD. The email goes on to detail Pavarotti's achievements.
As mentioned in the introduction, the information in this email is false, and this mail is in no way associated with Luciano Pavarotti's estate. This letter seeks personally identifiable details, i.e., the recipient's full name, age, country of residence, address, occupation, and mobile phone number.
Sensitive data can be used for various nefarious purposes, including to steal victims' identities. However, during communication with scammers, victims can be asked for other information or to send money (e.g., paying "taxes", "transaction fees", etc.).
If you have disclosed your private information (e.g., ID card details, passport photos/scans, credit card numbers, etc.) – contact the appropriate authorities without delay.
| Name | "Luciano Pavarotti Testament" phishing email |
| Threat Type | Phishing, Scam, Social Engineering, Fraud |
| Fake Claim | Recipient has been named as beneficiary of $50 million in Luciano Pavarotti's Last Will. |
| 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
We have investigated countless spam emails; "OneDrive - A Secured File Has Been Shared", "Fraud Victim", and "Hilton Group Quotation Request" are just a few of our latest articles on phishing campaigns. This mail primarily targets personally identifiable information, log-in credentials, and finance-related data.
In addition to promoting various scams, these emails proliferate malware. While spam letters are often full of mistakes, they can be disguised as messages from genuine entities (e.g., companies, organizations, institutions, service providers, authorities, etc.).
Due to how widespread spam mail is and how well-made it can be – we strongly recommend approaching incoming emails, PMs/DMs, SMSes, and other messages with caution.
How do spam campaigns infect computers?
Spam campaigns proliferate malware by sharing malicious files as attachments or download links. These files can be archives (ZIP, RAR, etc.), executables (.exe, .run, etc.), documents (Microsoft Office, Microsoft OneNote, PDF, etc.), JavaScript, and so on.
When a virulent file is opened – the infection chain is triggered. However, some formats need extra interaction to initiate malware download/installation. For example, Microsoft Office files require users to enable macro commands, while OneNote documents need them to click on embedded links or files.
How to avoid installation of malware?
It is essential to approach incoming emails and other messages with caution. Attachments or links present in dubious/irrelevant mail must not be opened, as they can be malicious.
However, malware is not spread exclusively via spam mail. Therefore, we recommend being careful while browsing since fraudulent and dangerous online content usually appears genuine and harmless.
Additionally, all downloads must be made from official and trustworthy sources. Another recommendation is to activate and update programs using legitimate functions/tools, as illegal activation tools ("cracks") and third-party updates can contain malware.
We must emphasize the importance of having a reputable anti-virus installed and kept up-to-date. Security software 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 "Luciano Pavarotti Testament" email letter:
Subject: Notification of Bequest
From the Desk of John Allan
Easy Wealth Management
601 F. Pavilion Center Dr #1176
Las Vegas, NV 89135, USA
Notification of Bequest
On behalf of the Trustees and Executor of the Estate of the late Luciano Pavarotti, I am attempting to reach you again. I wish to notify you that the late Luciano Pavarotti named you as a beneficiary in his will. He left you the sum of Fifty Million United States Dollars ($50,000,000.00) in the codicil and last testament to his will. This may sound strange and unbelievable, but it is true. Luciano Pavarotti was known for his humanitarian work.
He was the founder and host of the annual Pavarotti & Friends charity concerts in Modena, Italy, where he sang with international stars of all genres to raise funds for various UN causes and charities. Pavarotti performed with Bono and U2 in the 1995 song "Miss Sarajevo," raising $50,000,000 for his charity project 'Concert for Bosnia.' He also established and financed the Pavarotti Music Centre in Bosnia and raised funds through charity concerts for refugees from Afghanistan and Kosovo.
Pavarotti achieved two Guinness World Records: one for receiving the most curtain calls and another for the best-selling classical album, 'The Three Tenors in Concert,' with Plácido Domingo and José Carreras. Until his death, Luciano Pavarotti was a dedicated Christian who loved to give back. His great philanthropy earned him numerous awards during his lifetime. He passed away at the age of 71. According to his wishes, this money is to support your activities and to help the poor and needy.
Read more about him on this website -
Please provide the following information for verification and clarity:
Full Name
Mobile Telephone Number
Age
Contact Address/Country
Occupation
I look forward to hearing from you soon.
Yours in Service,
John Allan
Easy Wealth Management
601 F. Pavilion Center Dr #1176
Las Vegas, NV 89135, USA
Appearance of the "Luciano Pavarotti Testament" spam email (GIF):
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Quick menu:
- What is "Luciano Pavarotti Testament" 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 information relevant to the recipients. This mail is distributed in massive 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. However, if you have disclosed other private information (e.g., ID card details, passport scans/photos, credit card numbers, etc.) – contact the 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; systems are infected when malicious attachments or links are opened.
I have downloaded and opened a file attached to a spam email, is my computer infected?
File formats can impact infection success rates. When opened, executables (.exe, .run, etc.) cause infections almost without fail. However, some other formats – like documents (.doc, .xls, .pdf, .one, etc.) – may need additional interaction to jumpstart malware download/installation. Hence, triggering the infection might require enabling macro commands, clicking embedded content, or performing other actions.
Will Combo Cleaner remove malware infections present in email attachments?
Yes, Combo Cleaner is designed to eliminate all kinds of threats. It is capable of detecting and removing most of the known malware infections. Note that performing a complete system scan is crucial since sophisticated malicious software usually hides deep within systems.
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