How to identify phishing attempts like "E-Fax Center"
Written by Tomas Meskauskas on (updated)
What kind of scam is "E-Fax Center"?
Our team has reviewed this email and discovered that it is crafted to trick recipients into disclosing personal information. This email masquerades as a notification about a new fax attachment that a recipient has supposedly received. Such emails are classified as phishing emails and should be ignored to avoid potential issues.
More about the "E-Fax Center" scam email
This scam email is presented as a notification from an e-fax service. It claims that the recipient has received a fax from the provided number on the specified date (these details may vary). The email states that there are two received pages in a PDF file ("P.O Contract"). It urges the recipient to click the provided link ("Click Here To View E-Fax Securely") to access the supposed fax.
Overall, this is a phishing attempt designed to trick the recipient into clicking a fraudulent link that leads to a fake Sharepoint login page. On this website, potential victims are instructed to enter their email account login credentials (email address and password). The entered information is sent to fraudsters.
Scammers can exploit stolen login credentials to gain access to email accounts and potentially other platforms, especially if the same or similar passwords are used across multiple accounts. Once they have access to an account (or accounts), they can search for more sensitive information, send deceptive emails to others, or even make unauthorized purchases.
Additionally, scammers can sell stolen login information or data from compromised accounts on the dark web. Therefore, recipients should always review emails before sharing any personal information or clicking on links.
| Name | E-Fax Center Email Scam |
| Threat Type | Phishing, Scam, Social Engineering, Fraud |
| Fake Claim | The recipient has received a new fax |
| Related Domain | sharpoint.duszgqtx5ecaq.amplifyapp[.]com |
| Detection Names (sharpoint.duszgqtx5ecaq.amplifyapp[.]com) | Trustwave (Phishing), Full List Of Detections (VirusTotal) |
| Disguise | Letter from e-fax center |
| 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
In most cases, emails of this type are disguised as important/urgent letters from service providers or other entities. They often contain links or attachments designed to open fake login sites or similar pages. The goal is to extract sensitive details like login credentials, ID card information, or credit card details.
In some cases, fraudsters use deceptive emails to lure recipients into executing malware on their computers. Examples of fraudulent emails similar to the one reviewed in our article are "You Have Crucial Mails Pending", "Internet Corporation For Assigned Names And Numbers (ICANN)", and "Samples Of The Product".
How do spam campaigns infect computers?
Cybercriminals often use email to trick users into infecting their computers by sending malicious files or links. These files (such as executables, MS Office documents, ISO files, archives, PDFs, or scripts) can inject malware when opened or after additional actions, like enabling macros in MS Office documents.
Links in these emails can lead to websites designed to trick users into downloading malware. Some sites may even automatically download harmful files or programs without the user realizing it.
How to avoid installation of malware?
Always download files or software directly from official websites or trusted app stores, avoiding unofficial sources such as third-party app stores, sketchy websites, or peer-to-peer networks. Inspect emails before clicking links or opening attachments, especially if they are irrelevant, unexpected, or from unknown addresses.
Additionally, avoid clicking on ads, buttons, or links found on suspicious websites. Lastly, ensure your software and operating system are always up to date and use a trusted security program. 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 "E-Fax Center" email letter:
Subject: New Fax Notification: 2 Pages Received - View Securely
******** E-Fax Center
You have received new Fax attachment from 419 680-XXXX on 9/24/2024
Received Pages 2
File Type: PDF
File Name: P.O Contract (0.46mb)
Reference: Payment-e-receipt-A210-4590-675.pdf
To view your message Click Here To View E-Fax Securely
Screenshot of the phishing website used in this scam:
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Quick menu:
- What is E-Fax Center phishing 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 send the same generic email to thousands of people, hoping someone will be tricked by it. Thus, it is only a coincidence that this email was also sent to you.
I have provided my personal information when tricked by this email, what should I do?
If you opened a phishing page and provided your email account login credentials, change the password as soon as possible. If other accounts can be accessed using the same or similar details, change their passwords too.
I have downloaded and opened a malicious file attached to an email, is my computer infected?
If the file was an executable, it is highly likely that your system was infected. However, if it was a document file like a .pdf or .doc, you might have avoided infection, as simply opening these types of files does not always result in malware infiltration (additional actions may be required for the malware to activate).
I have read the email but did not open the attachment, is my computer infected?
Opening an email is safe. Nevertheless, opening malicious files or links within deceptive emails can trigger malware.
Will Combo Cleaner remove malware infections that were present in email attachment?
Combo Cleaner can detect and remove nearly all known malware infections. However, advanced malware often hides deep within the system, requiring a full system scan to ensure removal.
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