How to recognize fraudulent emails like "A Businessman Made A Fixed Deposit Of Huge Fund"

What is "A Businessman Made A Fixed Deposit Of Huge Fund"?

We have analyzed this email and found that it is a scam email posing as a business opportunity offer. In most cases, the scammers behind such emails aim to extract personal information and (or) money from unsuspecting individuals. It is important to recognize and ignore emails of this kind to avoid potential issues.

More about the "A Businessman Made A Fixed Deposit Of Huge Fund" scam email

In this scam email, the sender claims to be a bank director in the Philippines. He states that a Palestinian businessman made a large deposit in their bank before dying, along with his entire family, in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The email implies that the businessman left no next of kin and proposes to present the recipient as the heir to claim the funds.

To proceed, the recipient must provide their full name, phone number, and confirmation of interest. Typically, such scams are utilized to trick recipients into providing personal information that could be used to steal identities, make fraudulent purchases, or for other malicious purposes.

Also, scammrs behind these emails may attempt to deceive recipients into paying some "administration", "bank transfer", "insurance", or other fees. They often claim that recipients must pay a certain amount of money to receive the supposed funds (in this case, an inheritance). However, no actual money is ever received.

Thus, it is highly advisable to be cautious when receiving such emails and never provide any information or pay money to avoid financial loss, identity theft, or other consequences.

Threat Summary:

Name	A Businessman Made A Fixed Deposit Of Huge Fund Email Scam
Threat Type	Phishing, Scam, Social Engineering, Fraud
Fake Claim	The recipient can receive an inheritance
Disguise	Letter from a bank director at a bank in the Philippines.
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.

Similar scam emails in general

Emails from scammers that promise opportunities or unexpected inheritances are used to exploit unsuspecting individuals. These fraudulent messages typically aim to entice recipients to share personal information or pay fake fees. Recipients should always verify the legitimacy of such emails before taking any action.

Examples of similar scams are "This Concerns Your Student Loan Email Scam", "Rothschild Foundation Email Scam", and "Payment Approved By International Authorities Email Scam". It is important to note that cybercriminals can also use emails to deliver malware.

How do spam campaigns infect computers?

Emails utilized to distribute malware can contain malicious files (attachments). Malware infiltrates systems when users open those files or perform additional actions upon opening them (e.g., enable macros commands in infected MS Office documents). Examples of files used to distribute malware are PDF files, archives, executables, ISO files, and JavaScript files.

Also, such emails can contain fraudulent links. These links can be created to direct users to malicious websites designed to either deceive them into downloading malware or initiate downloads automatically.

How to avoid installation of malware?

Always thoroughly examine emails before clicking on any links or opening attachments, especially if they are unexpected/irrelevant and (or) come from unknown senders. Download files or software from official websites or app stores, and avoid unofficial sources like third-party downloaders and peer-to-peer networks. Also, never download pirated software (or similar content).

Be cautious with ads, buttons, and links on dubious websites. Keep your software and operating system up to date, and use a reliable security program to protect your devices. 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 "A Businessman Made A Fixed Deposit Of Huge Fund" email letter:

Subject: Bussiness Opportunity

Dear Friend,

A Palestine businessman made a fixed deposit of huge fund
in my bank branch here in Philippines where I am a bank director
and he died with his entire family in Israeli and Palestinian conflict leaving behind no next of kin.

I Propose to present you as next of kin to claim the funds, if
interested contact me with your full name, and telephone number
to reach you and most importantly, a confirmation of acceptance
from you.

Your Truly ,
Howard

Another example of an email from "A Businessman Made A Fixed Deposit Of Huge Fund" spam campaign:

Text presented within:

Subject: Looking forward to your soonest reply

 

Dear Friend,

A Palestinian businessman made a fixed deposit of huge fund
in my bank branch here in Hong Kong where I am a bank director
and he died with his entire family in Israeli and Palestinian conflict
leaving behind no next of kin.
 
I Propose to present you as next of kin to claim the funds, if
interested contact me with your full name, and telephone number
to reach you and most importantly, a confirmation of acceptance
from you.
 
Your Truly ,
Lung Chung

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Quick menu:

• What is A Businessman Made A Fixed Deposit Of Huge Fund inheritance scam?
• 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?

Scammers frequently distribute the same email to thousands of recipients, using generic messages that lack personalization. If you receive one of these emails, it is likely that your email address was acquired from a data breach.

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

If you have sent your ID card information, credit card details, or similar information, contact the relevant authorities to prevent identity theft or other issues.

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

Malicious executable files can infect your computer immediately upon opening. Harmful MS Office documents typically remain inactive until you enable macros. The consequences of opening a malicious file vary based on its type.

I have sent cryptocurrency to the address presented in such email, can I get my money back?

Unfortunately, once cryptocurrency is sent, it is generally irreversible and difficult to recover.

I have read the email but did not open the attachment, is my computer infected?

Opening an email itself is not risky, but clicking on malicious links or opening harmful attachments can lead to system infections.

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

Yes, Combo Cleaner can detect and remove nearly all known malware infections. However, advanced malware often hides deeply within the system, requiring a full system scan for effective detection and removal.

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