How to identify scams like "Invest In Your Company"
Written by Tomas Meskauskas on (updated)
What kind of scam is "Invest In Your Company"?
Our examination of this email has shown that it is a fraudulent email designed to trick recipients into sending personal information and (or) money to scammers. Falling for such emails can result in monetary loss, identity theft, and other consequences. Thus, recipients should recognize such emails and ignore them.
More about the "Invest In Your Company" scam email
This scam email claims to be from Eunjin Bagan, the wife of a prominent Ukrainian politician who was killed by the Russian military. It states that she survived but is currently trapped in Lviv. The letter claims that her late husband left behind 5 million euros in a Turkish bank and 30 million USD in a security company in Dubai, and she needs urgent assistance to access the money.
Furthermore, the email says that Eunjin Bagan offers a 10% reward for assistance. It instructs the recipient to contact the Turkish bank to receive the 5 million euros, promising that they will be able to access the funds quickly. Lastly, the email says Eunjin Bagan will send a power of attorney to authorize the recipient to claim the money.
Typically, scams like this one are crafted to convince recipients to provide personal information (e.g., credit card details, ID card information, or similar details) or send money upfront to initiate the transaction. Either way, victims never receive any money. Thus, it is important to be careful when receiving such emails to avoid potential issues.
Name | Invest In Your Company Email Scam |
Threat Type | Phishing, Scam, Social Engineering, Fraud |
Fake Claim | The recipient can claim a large sum of money for accistance |
Disguise | Offer from Eunjin Bagan |
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. |
Similar scam emails in general
These emails aim to manipulate recipients into providing personal information or money. It is crucial to remain skeptical of unsolicited messages that promise large sums of money, especially when they involve urgent requests. Always verify the sender's legitimacy and approach such communications with caution to avoid falling for scams.
Examples of similar scams are "You Share The Same Name Email Scam", "A Businessman Made A Fixed Deposit Of Huge Fund Email Scam", and "Rothschild Foundation Email Scam". It is important to mention that fraudulent emails can be used to trick recipients into infecting computers.
How do spam campaigns infect computers?
Threat actors employ email to deceive users into infecting their computers by sending malicious files or links. Opening these files or following specific steps, such as enabling macro commands in infected Microsoft Office documents, can lead to malware injection. File types commonly used for distributing malware include executables, PDFs, archives, script files, and ISO files.
Links in these emails may lead to websites crafted to entice users into downloading malware. Additionally, they can direct users to sites that automatically download harmful files or programs without their consent.
How to avoid installation of malware?
Always scrutinize emails before clicking links or opening attachments, especially if they are unsolicited or come from unknown senders. Download files or software from official websites or trusted app stores. It is strongly recommended to avoid using other sources, such as third-party app stores, unofficial pages, peer-to-peer networks, third-party downloaders, etc.
Furthermore, avoid clicking ads, buttons, or links on suspicious websites. Regularly check for and install the latest updates for your software and operating system, 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 "Invest In Your Company" email letter:
Subject: Good Day
Good-day,My name is Mrs. EUNJIN BAGAN, the wife to one of the prominent Ukraine politician, My husband and my only child were killed by the Russian Military while we were trying to leave Ukraine through Kiev, I was rescued alive but I am trapped back here in Oblast of Lviv where I am receiving treatments, ljust need an urgent assistance from you, My husband as a prominent politician and a businessman have 5 million euro in a turkish Financi bank and 30 million USD in a security company in DUBAI, It belongs to my late husband and I am the next of kin, we were saving the funds for his election in 2024.
It is true that I do not know you, but I have confidence that you will not disappoint me. I offer to pay you %10 of the funds and the rest you can invest in your company for me.
I wish that you contact the Turkish Financi bank first to receive the 5 million Euro, they will release the funds to you using the latest wire technology instantly. After that, then you can go to DUBAI to retrieve the 30 million USD.
I will send you the power of attorney that will empower you to receive the funds and once the Turkish Financi bank sees my power of attorney they will transfer the 5 million euro to you.
Please get back to me immediately
Regards
EUNJIN BAGAN
Another example of an email from "Invest In Your Company" spam campaign:
Text presented within:
Subject: My Request,
Greetings,
Nice to meet you,I humbly write to solicit for your partnership and assistance with divine confidence that you are a reliable and honest person who will be capable for this important business transaction believing also that you will not let me down either now or in the future
My name is Mis.Zalanda Mubarak I am 19 years old girl and the only daughter of my late parents whom were both killed during the political crises My father worked for many years in an oil drilling company and he made some funds deposited with my name as next of kin in his bank before he died he instructed me to seek for a foreign partner in a country of my choice where I will transfer this money and use it for future investment purpose that is why I want you to help me transfer this money to your bank account in your country and also help me come to your country to continue my education.
This is because after the death of my parents, my wicked uncle wants to kill me and take over all my father property's from me because I have no one to defend me. He has taken the house in the village and the one in town and other things. I have reported my uncle to the local police here in my country, but nothing has been done since then. I am writing this mail from a local hotel where I am presently hiding for my safety.
I am willing to offer you 20% out of the Total Fund just for your Assistance for helping me regarding the transfer and investment of this Fund in your country and i will offer 10% of the total fund to the orphanage over there in your country,while my 70% will invest in profitable business and will be managing by you while I continue my studies. Endeavor to let me know your decision.
Your urgent response will be appreciated. Talk to you more sincerely
with regards
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Quick menu:
- What is Invest In Your Company fake offer?
- 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?
These emails are often sent randomly. Scammers send the same emails to all recipients without targeting anyone in particular.
I have provided my personal information when tricked by this email, what should I do?
If you have revealed sensitive information, such as credit card numbers or identification details, reach out to your bank or the relevant authorities and inform them about the situation.
I have downloaded and opened a malicious file attached to an email, is my computer infected?
If you have opened an executable file, there is a chance that your computer could be infected with malware. If you have opened a document file, such as a .pdf or .doc, you are likely safe, as simply opening these types of files does not lead to malware entering your system (unless additional steps are taken).
I have read the email but did not open the attachment, is my computer infected?
While opening an email is typically safe, clicking on links or opening attachments in scam emails can result in malware being activated.
Will Combo Cleaner remove malware infections that were present in email attachment?
Combo Cleaner can remove most known threats. It is important to note that advanced malware can deeply conceal itself within a system. Therefore, a full system scan should be run to ensure removal.
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