Avoid getting scammed by fake "Bank Of Scotland" emails
Written by Tomas Meskauskas on (updated)
What kind of email is "Bank Of Scotland"?
After inspecting this "Bank Of Scotland" email, we learned that it is spam. This phishing campaign seeks recipients' personally identifiable information by claiming that they are entitled to funds from the Bank of Scotland.
The letter namedrops several legitimate entities, and it must be emphasized that this scam mail is not associated with any of them.
"Bank Of Scotland" email scam overview
The spam email with the subject "Compensation Payment Of $5.5 Million U.S.D" (may vary) states that the recipient is entitled to receive funds, which will be released by the Bank of Scotland.
The money supposedly originates from a court-mandated settlement reached after a case filed by the government of the United States against countries that failed to reign in financial fraud and scams. The settlement totaling 2 billion USD is to be distributed to individuals who had fallen victim to said criminal activity.
The funds were released by the World Bank to the Bank of Scotland, and the latter is to distribute 5.5 million USD exclusively by hand-to-hand delivery to the recipient.
It must be stressed that the information in this email is false, and this mail is not associated with the Bank of Scotland plc, the World Bank, the United Nations (UN), or any other genuine entities.
This phishing email requests the recipient to provide the following information: full name, age, occupation, country of residence, address, nearest airport, and telephone number. Cyber criminals can variously abuse such sensitive information, and this includes stealing victims' identities.
Therefore, if you have provided your personally identifiable or finance-related information to scammers – contact the appropriate authorities without delay.
| Name | "Bank Of Scotland" phishing email |
| Threat Type | Phishing, Scam, Social Engineering, Fraud |
| Fake Claim | Recipient is entitled to receive $5.5 million from a fund established after an international court case. |
| Disguise | Bank of Scotland plc |
| 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. |
Phishing spam campaign examples
We have investigated numerous spam campaigns; "Trust Wallet - New Security Alert", "Beneficiary Of Will", "Adobe - You Have Received New Files", "HelpDesk Password Confirmation", "DHL Pickup Confirmation", "Estimate Of The Cost And Availability", "Bank Transfer Accounting Copy", and "You Are Shortlisted For Tender" are just some of our latest articles on phishing emails.
Commonly targeted information includes log-in credentials (usernames/passwords), personally identifiable details, and finance-related data. However, other scams are promoted through spam mail as well. It is also used in malware proliferation.
While the widely held belief that spam emails are often poorly written and full of errors is not untrue, it is not always the case. However, these letters can be well-crafted and even believably disguised as messages from legitimate entities (e.g., organizations, institutions, companies, service providers, authorities, etc.).
How do spam campaigns infect computers?
Spam campaigns spread malware by distributing malicious files as attachments or download links. Infectious files can be archives (ZIP, RAR, etc.), executables (.exe, .run, etc.), documents (Microsoft Office, Microsoft OneNote, PDF, etc.), JavaScript, and so on. Once such a file is executed, run, or otherwise opened – the infection chain is jumpstarted.
Some formats require additional user interaction to initiate malware download/installation. For example, Microsoft Office files require users to enable macro commands (i.e., editing/content), while OneNote documents need them to click embedded links or files.
How to avoid installation of malware?
We highly recommend incoming emails and other messages. Attachments or links present in suspicious/irrelevant mail must not be opened, as they can be harmful or malicious.
However, malware is not proliferated exclusively via spam mail. Therefore, we advise being vigilant while browsing since the Internet is rife with well-disguised fraudulent and dangerous content.
Additionally, all downloads must be performed from official and verified sources. Another recommendation is to activate and update programs using legitimate functions/tools, as illegal product activation ("cracking") tools and third-party updates may contain malware.
It is essential for device integrity and user safety to have a dependable anti-virus installed and kept updated. Security software must be used to run regular system scans and to remove detected threats and issues. 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 "Bank Of Scotland" spam email letter:
Subject: Compensation Payment Of $5.5 Million U.S.D
BANK OF SCOTLAND PLC UNITED KINGDOM.
PO Box 23581, Edinburgh, EH1 1WH.
PHONE: +44 7767 966585
GREETINGS, BENEFICIARY,
I Must Say That I Have Enormous Respect For You Considering The Manner In Which I Have Made Contact With You.
I Am Stan Stevenson, The Foreign Remittance Manager, Bank of Scotland.
We Have Been Instructed This Day By The Concerned Authority To Have Your Fund’s Release-Protocol Completed, Contrarily, The Fund Will Be Declared Unserviceable By The Bank.
Kindly Note That This Funds Were Generated By The United States Government From The World Bank, Due To The Rate Of Deceptions Out There In The World, The United States Governments Have Filed A Case Against Some Countries Government And All Other Individuals Involving In Scam Activities, After The Case Has Been Taken To Court, The Law Court Gave Orders That Those Countries' Government And All Individuals To Release The Total Sum Of Two Billion United States Dollars Only Which Was Tagged Unclaimed Fund.
Thereafter The Funds Have Been Released From The World Bank To the Bank of Scotland, To Have The Fund Release With An Immediate Effect, The United States Governments Has Chosen Bank of Scotland To Inform The Rightful Beneficiary, And Your Name And Email Address Was Also Found On Our List.
The Time Frame Is Very Short And Technically, Hand Delivery Is The Fastest Means Of Getting This Done, So We Have Reverted To Status Through Means Of United Nations Courier Service.
This ($5,500,000.00) Which Is On Your Name, Can Only Be Delivered To You Via Hand-To-Hand Delivery.
To This End We Request You To Reconfirm Below Information To Ensure Accurate Delivery Of Your Fund
Full Names:
Address:
Phone:
Nearest Airport:
Age:
Country:
Occupation:
Your Reference Code Is: (Bs/Un/Fnd/0702)
Please Remember To State It As A Subject When Contacting Us And Your Fund Will Be Delivered Within The 48 Working Hours.
Therefore Forward Your Details To This Email: managerofficialstanstevenson@gmail.com
MR. Stan Stevenson
FOREIGN REMITTANCE MANAGER,
BANK OF SCOTLAND PLC UK
Appearance of the "Bank Of Scotland" spam email (GIF):
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Quick menu:
- What is "Bank Of Scotland" 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 may include relevant information, which is predominantly acquired from publicly available sources or via phishing scams – but that does not mean that they are personal. This mail is distributed in massive operations – therefore, 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 personally identifiable or finance-related information (e.g., ID card details, passport photos/scans, credit card numbers, etc.) – contact the appropriate authorities without delay. And if you've disclosed your log-in credentials – change the passwords of all potentially exposed accounts and inform their official support.
I have read a spam email but didn't open the attachment, is my computer infected?
Merely reading an email will not trigger any malware download/installation processes; devices 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 – the device was compromised. However, you might have avoided this if it was a document (.doc, .xls, .one, .pdf, etc.). These formats may require additional user interaction (e.g., enabling macros, clicking embedded content, etc.) to trigger system infection processes.
Will Combo Cleaner remove malware infections present in email attachments?
Yes, Combo Cleaner is designed to scan computers and eliminate all kinds of threats. It is capable of detecting and removing practically all known malware infections. Keep in mind that performing a full system scan is essential since sophisticated malicious programs tend to hide deep within systems.
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