How to identify scams like "New PDF File Received"

What is "New PDF File Received"?

Our team has inspected this email and concluded that it is a phishing attempt. Scammers behind such fraudulent schemes usually aim to trick recipients into sending them personal information. Thus, it is advisable to be careful with such emails to avoid potential negative consequences.

More about the "New PDF File Received" scam email

This phishing email informs the recipient that they received a new PDF file. It claims that the received file is related to "DOMC Payments" (transaction ID "NUMBER9"). The email urges the recipient to review the attached PDF, asserting that the transaction was successfully processed. Clicking the "Review PDF" button is supposed to open the document.

However, clicking the button leads to a phishing website (during our analysis, the page was down and could not be accessed). Usually, scammers behind phishing emails with links aim to trick recipients into disclosing credit card details, login credentials, ID card information, or other personal details.

Scammers can misuse the obtained information to make unauthorized purchases, access personal accounts, steal funds, gather additional sensitive information, steal identities, and facilitate other fraudulent activities. Overall, falling victim to scam emails can result in financial losses, identity theft, reputational damage, and other issues.

Therefore, it is very important to be careful with emails and never respond to them (or enter information on dubious pages included in such emails) without making sure they are legitimate.

Threat Summary:

Name	New PDF File Received Email Scam
Threat Type	Phishing, Scam, Social Engineering, Fraud
Fake Claim	Recipient has received a PDF file
Disguise	Letter regarding a successfully processed transaction
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

Phishing emails like the one we reviewed in our article are deceptive messages designed to trick recipients into revealing sensitive information, such as passwords or financial details. They often mimic legitimate organizations. These emails typically contain links or attachments that lead to fraudulent websites or other malicious content.

It is important to note that fraudulent emails can be used to trick users into infecting their computers. Examples of phishing emails are "Payment For All Pending Invoice(s)", "Website Suspension In Progress", and "Confirm That This Is Your Valid Email Address".

How do spam campaigns infect computers?

Emails used to spread malware often include harmful attachments. Malware can infect systems when users open these files or take certain actions after opening them, such as enabling macros in infected MS Office documents. Other common types of files that are used to distribute malware include executable files, PDFs, compressed archives, ISO files, and script files.

Additionally, these emails may contain deceptive links that lead users to malicious websites. These sites are crafted to trick users into downloading malware or to start malicious downloads automatically.

How to avoid installation of malware?

Do not open links or attachments in irrelevant, unexpected, or suspicious in other ways emails (especially when they are sent from unknown addresses). Carefully examine emails before taking action. Download software from reliable sources, such as official websites and app stores. Avoid using other sources (e.g., P2P networks, third-party downloaders, unofficial sites).

Regularly update the operating system and installed programs, and avoid interacting with pop-ups, advertisements, and links on shady websites. Additionally, install a reputable 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 "New PDF File Received" email letter:

1 New PDF File Received
DOMC Payments - Trans ID:NUMBER9
Payment Type: EFT | DATEONLY1.
Review PDF
This Transaction was successfully processed.
Review the PDF

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Quick menu:

• What is New PDF File Received 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?

Scammers often send the same generic email to a large number of people, hoping that at least a few recipients will be tricked. These emails lack personalization. Typically, scammers obtain email addresses from data breaches.

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

Immediately change your passwords for the affected accounts and enable two-factor authentication if possible.

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

If the file was an executable, it is likely that it has planted malware on your system. However, if it was a document file (like .pdf or .doc), you might have avoided infection, as simply opening those files does not always trigger malware.

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

No, opening an email is safe. The risk comes from clicking links or opening attachments within the fraudulent email.

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

Yes, Combo Cleaner can detect and remove nearly all known malware. However, advanced malware often burrows deep within the system, so a full system scan can be required to ensure complete removal.

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