Avoid getting scammed by fake "Payment For All Pending Invoice(s)" emails

What kind of email is "Payment For All Pending Invoice(s)"?

After analyzing the "Payment For All Pending Invoice(s)" email, we determined that it is spam. This phishing letter likely targets recipients' email account log-in credentials (passwords) by baiting them with an invoice-themed lure.

"Payment For All Pending Invoice(s)" email scam overview

The spam email with the subject "Pending Invoice(s)" (may vary) requests the recipient to review the Microsoft Excel documents and indicate which invoices are unpaid. The sender states that the payments will be made once the recipient confirms their bank account.

It must be emphasized that the information in this email is fake, and this mail is not associated with any real individuals or legitimate entities.

At the time of research, the link in "Payment For All Pending Invoice(s)" redirected to a website that was down. In most cases, spam campaigns of this kind endorse phishing sites disguised as email account sign-in pages. However, since this scam email mentioned confirming banking information, it could endorse a site targeting data of this kind.

Phishing websites record entered information and send it to cyber criminals. Note that potential future releases of "Payment For All Pending Invoice(s)" could redirect to operational webpages.

Emails are of particular interest to scammers, as they typically contain sensitive data or might open an avenue for stealing the accounts, platforms, and services registered through the mail.

To expand upon how this can be abused, criminals can steal account owners' identities (e.g., emails, social networking, social media, messengers, chats, etc.) and ask the contacts/friends/followers for loans or donations, endorse scams, and spread malware by sharing malicious files/links.

Furthermore, banking information and finance-related accounts (e.g., banking account details, credit/debit card numbers, online banking, digital wallets, money transferring, e-commerce, etc.) can be used to make fraudulent transactions and online purchases.

In summary, by trusting an email like "Payment For All Pending Invoice(s)" – user can experience severe privacy issues, financial losses, and identity theft.

If you have already provided your log-in credentials to scammers – immediately change the passwords of all potentially compromised accounts and inform their official support. And if you have disclosed your personally identifiable or finance-related information to scammers – it may be necessary to contact the appropriate authorities.

Threat Summary:

Name	"Payment For All Pending Invoice(s)" phishing email
Threat Type	Phishing, Scam, Social Engineering, Fraud
Fake Claim	Recipient is requested to indicate unpaid invoices and confirm their details.
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

"Unusual Activities In Your Account", "Mailbox Abuse Notice", "Someone Used Your Webmail Password", "Smartcolor Password Expiry", and "Email Resource Alert Triggered" are just some of our latest articles on phishing campaigns.

These emails predominantly target log-in credentials, personally identifiable information, and finance-related data. However, various scams are promoted through spam mail, and it is used to proliferate malware.

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

How do spam campaigns infect computers?

Spam campaigns spread malware by distributing infectious files. They can be attached to or linked inside the emails/messages. Virulent files come in various formats, e.g., documents (Microsoft Office, Microsoft OneNote, PDF, etc.), archives (ZIP, RAR, etc.), executables (.exe, .run, etc.), JavaScript, and so on.

Once a malicious file is opened – the malware download/installation chain is initiated. However, some formats require additional actions to initiate system infection processes. For example, Microsoft Office files need users to enable macro commands (i.e., editing/content), while OneNote documents require them to click embedded links/files.

How to avoid installation of malware?

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

It has to be mentioned that malware is not spread only through spam mail. Therefore, we advise being careful while browsing since fraudulent and dangerous online content usually appears legitimate and harmless.

Another recommendation is to download only from official and verified channels. Additionally, all programs must be activated and updated using functions/tools provided by genuine developers, as illegal activation tools ("cracks") and third-party updaters may contain malware.

It is paramount for device integrity and user safety to have a reputable anti-virus installed and kept updated. Security software must be used to perform regular system scans and to remove detected threats. 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 "Payment For All Pending Invoice(s)" spam email letter:

Subject: Pending Invoice(s)

Hello,

We are ready to make payment for all pending invoice(s). Kindly indicate the unpaid invoice(s) as stated in this EXCEL DOCUMENT , and also confirm your Bank account to receive payment. We will proceed with full payment as soon as we hear from you.

Regards,

Vin Hartman
Operations Manager
Procurement Express

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Quick menu:

• What is "Payment For All Pending Invoice(s)" 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 campaigns – 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 – change the passwords of all potentially exposed accounts and inform their official support. However, if the disclosed information was of a different personal nature (e.g., ID card details, credit card numbers, etc.) – immediately contact relevant authorities.

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

No, reading an email will not trigger any malware download/installation processes. Systems 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?

If the opened file was an executable (.exe, .run, etc.) – most likely, yes – your device was infected. However, you might have avoided compromising the system if it was a document (.doc, .xls, .one, etc.). These formats may require additional user interaction (e.g., enabling macro commands, clicking embedded content, etc.) to initiate infection chains.

Will Combo Cleaner remove malware infections present in email attachments?

Yes, Combo Cleaner is designed to scan devices and remove all kinds of threats. It can detect and eliminate most of the known malware infections. It must be stressed that performing a full system scan is essential since sophisticated malicious programs tend to hide deep within systems.

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