How to identify scams like "Domain/Company Name Conflict"

What kind of scam is "Domain/Company Name Conflict"?

Our team has examined this email and concluded that it is a phishing email. Scammers use such emails to trick unsuspecting recipients into disclosing personal information. In this particular case, scammers pretend to be a company named NET Registry to extract information from recipients. It is highly advisable not to respond to such emails and click the provided link.

More about the "Domain/Company Name Conflict" scam email

The scam email poses as a letter from a Domain Registration Service company based in Shanghai. It claims that a company named Hongpai Ltd has applied for several domain names and internet keywords that allegedly conflict with the recipient’s company name or trademark. The sender (supposedly Peter Liu, the General Manager of NET Registry) asks the recipient to confirm whether Hongpai Ltd is a distributor for their company in China.

Usually, when contacted, scammers behind such emails attempt to trick recipients into disclosing credit card details, login credentials, social security numbers, or other personal information. Also, they can try to extract money from unsuspecting individuals. It is important to mention that such emails often contain links designed to open fake websites.

Individuals should always verify the legitimacy of received emails before taking action (e.g., responding or opening links, files). Taking this precaution can prevent monetary loss, identity theft, and other issues.

Threat Summary:

Name	Domain/Company Name Conflict Email Scam
Threat Type	Phishing, Scam, Social Engineering, Fraud
Fake Claim	The company's name conflicts with the sender's
Disguise	Letter from Domain Registration Service company
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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Similar scam emails in general

Emails of this type are designed to trick recipients into divulging sensitive information, such as passwords or financial details. They often appear to come from legitimate sources (e.g., banks or service providers) and use urgent language to trick recipients into taking immediate action. In some cases, such emails can contain malicious links designed to trick recipients into infecting computers.

Some examples of similar emails are "Someone Used Your Webmail Password", "Dangerous Email Detection", and "Vlaanderen Verbeelding Werkt".

How do spam campaigns infect computers?

Cybercriminals use email to distribute malware by sending infected files (e.g., malicious documents, PDFs, executables, or compressed archives). They attempt to deceive recipients into activating malware by taking certain actions, like enabling macros commands in malicious documents or opening malicious executables.

In other cases, deceptive emails can contain links to harmful websites where users can be tricked into downloading and installing malware. Additionally, the links might lead to sites that automatically initiate malware downloads without the user's knowledge.

How to avoid installation of malware?

Exercise caution with email attachments and links from suspicious or unknown sources. Download software and files only from trusted platforms, such as official websites or reputable app stores. Avoid downloading pirated software, cracking tools, or key generators, and be wary of pop-ups, ads, and links on questionable websites.

Additionally, keep all software and your operating system up to date, and regularly scan your computer with a reliable 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 "Domain/Company Name Conflict" email letter:

(It's very urgent, therefore we kindly ask you to forward this email to your CEO. If you believe this has been sent to you in error, please ignore it. Thanks)
Dear CEO,
This is a formal email. We are the Domain Registration Service company in Shanghai, China. Here I have something to confirm with you. We received an application from Hongpai Ltd on September 16, 2024. They want to request "********" as their internet keyword and China (CN) domain names (********.cn, ********.com.cn, ********.net.cn, ********.org.cn). But after checking it, we find this name conflict with your company name or trademark. In order to deal with this matter better, it's necessary to send email to you and confirm whether this company is your distributor in China?
 
Best regards
Peter Liu

General Manager

NET Registry

Tel: +86-2161918696 | Fax: +86-2161918697 | Mob: +86-13816428671

12F Kaike Building, No. 1801 Hongmei Road, Shanghai 200233, China

Another example of an email from "Domain/Company Name Conflict" spam campaign:

Text presented within:

Dear CEO,

(It's very urgent, please transfer this email to your CEO. If this email affects you, we are very sorry, please ignore this email. Thanks)

We are a Network Service Company which is the domain name registration center in China.
We received an application from Kai Rui Ltd on September 29, 2024. They want to register " ******** " as their Internet Keyword and " ******** "、" ******** " 、" ******** "、" ******** " domain names. But after checking it, we find " ******** " conflict with your company name or trademark. In order to deal with this matter better, so we send you email and confirm whether this company is your distributor or business partner in China or not?

Best Regards

**************************************

Mike Zhang | Service Manager

China Name Registry (Head Office)

No. 300, Xuanhua Road, Changning District, Shanghai200050, China

Tel: +86-2161918696 | Fax: +86-2161918697  | Mob: +86-1582177 1823

Web: www(dot)chinanameregistry(dot)com

**********************************************

Yet another example of an email from "Domain/Company Name Conflict" spam campaign:

Text presented within:

(If you are NOT CEO, please kindly forward this to your CEO, because this is urgent. If you believe this has been sent to you in error, please ignore it. Thanks)
Dear CEO,
This email is from China domain name registration center, which mainly deal with the domain name registration in China. We received an application from Hongpai Ltd on October 26, 2024. They want to apply for "********" as their internet keyword and China (CN) domain names (********.cn, ********.com.cn, ********.net.cn, ********.org.cn). But after checking it, we find this name conflict with your company name or trademark. In order to deal with this matter better, it's necessary to send email to you and confirm whether this company is your business partner in China?
 
Best regards
Thomas Liu

General Manager

Domain Registry

Tel: +86-2161918696 | Fax: +86-2161918697 | Mob: +86-13816428671

12F Kaike Building, No. 1801 Hongmei Road, Shanghai 200233, China

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Quick menu:

• What is Domain/Company Name Conflict 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?

Crooks send the exact same letter to thousands of recipients hoping that someone will fall for it. These spam emails are never personal.

I have provided my personal information when tricked by this email, what should I do?

If you have shared your account credentials, it is crucial to change all your passwords immediately to protect your accounts from unauthorized access. If you have provided sensitive personal information, such as credit card numbers or identification details, you should contact the relevant authorities or institutions right away.

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

If the file you opened was an executable, there is a strong chance that your system has been compromised by malware. However, if the file was a document like a PDF or Word document, you might have escaped infection, as just opening these files does not necessarily activate malware.

I have read the email but didn't open the attachment, is my computer infected?

Opening emails is generally safe, but clicking on links or opening attachments within fraudulent emails can lead to system infections.

Will Combo Cleaner remove malware infections that were present in email attachment?

Yes, Combo Cleaner is designed to scan computers for threats and remove them. It can detect almost all known malware. It is important to note that advanced malware can hide itself in the operating system. Thus, it is required to run a full system scan to detect such threats.

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