Avoid losing your account via fake "Join Zoom Meeting" emails

What kind of email is "Join Zoom Meeting"?

Upon examining the "Join Zoom Meeting" email, we determined that it is spam. Presented as an invite to a Zoom videotelephony meeting, this fake message seeks to lure recipients into visiting a phishing website that targets account log-in credentials.

It must be stressed that this email is fraudulent, and this mail is not associated with the actual Zoom Video Communications, Inc.

"Join Zoom Meeting" email scam overview

This spam email is disguised as an invitation to join a videotelephony meeting via Zoom. It must be emphasized that this message is fake, and it is in no way associated with Zoom software, its developer – Zoom Video Communications, Inc., or any other legitimate entities.

The hyperlink in this email redirects to a phishing website masquerading as Zoom's official website. Information entered into phishing sites is recorded and sent to scammers. This page targets log-in credentials; therefore, victims tricked into providing theirs will likely have their accounts stolen.

The unauthorized access can be variously abused. For example, scammers can steal account owners' identities (e.g., emails, social networking, social media, messaging/communication platforms, etc.) and ask contacts/friends/followers for loans or donations, promote scams, and spread malware by sharing malicious links/files.

Certain accounts, like emails, may serve as a gateway to stealing the accounts/platforms/services registered through them or linked with them. Hence, scammers might also gain access to finance-related accounts (e.g., e-commerce, money transferring, online banking, digital wallets, etc.) and use them to make fraudulent transactions or online purchases.

Additional dangers are posed when the stolen accounts are work-related, as those can include incredibly sensitive information and might open an avenue for cyber criminals to infect the corporate network with trojans, ransomware, and other malware.

In summary, victims of scam mail like "Join Zoom Meeting" may experience system infections, serious privacy issues, financial losses, and identity theft.

If you have entered your log-in credentials into a phishing webpage/file – immediately change the passwords of all possibly exposed accounts and inform their official support.

Threat Summary:

Name	"Join Zoom Meeting" phishing email
Threat Type	Phishing, Scam, Social Engineering, Fraud
Fake Claim	Recipient is invited to join an online meeting.
Disguise	Zoom
Related Domains	litemoon[.]click
Detection Names (litemoon[.]click)	Trustwave (Phishing), Sophos (Spam), Full List Of Detections (VirusTotal)
Serving IP Address (litemoon[.]click)	104.21.21.30
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.

Phishing spam campaign examples

"Account Validation", "Capital One Bank Account Activity", and "AMERICAN EXPRESS card has been temporarily flagged" are merely a few of our newest articles on phishing emails.

Various scams are promoted through spam mail, and it is used to distribute malware. While the commonly held belief that these emails are poorly written and riddled with grammatical/spelling errors is not untrue, it is not always the case.

This mail can be competently crafted and even believably disguised as messages from legitimate service providers, companies, organizations, institutions, authorities, and other entities.

How do spam campaigns infect computers?

Malware is often spread through spam campaigns. Deceptive emails/messages can include virulent files as attachments or download links. These files come in various formats, e.g., documents (PDF, Microsoft Office, Microsoft OneNote, etc.), archives (ZIP, RAR, etc.), executables (.exe, .run, etc.), JavaScript, and so on.

Merely opening a malicious file can be enough to trigger malware download/installation. Some formats require additional user interaction to jumpstart infection processes. For example, Microsoft Office files need users to enable macro commands (i.e., editing/content), while OneNote documents require them to click on embedded links or files.

How to avoid installation of malware?

We strongly recommend exercising caution with incoming emails, PMs/DMs, SMSes, and other messages. Attachments or links found in dubious/irrelevant mail must not be opened, as they can be infectious.

However, malware is proliferated using various techniques. Therefore, we advise being careful while browsing since the Internet is rife with well-disguised fraudulent and malicious content.

Furthermore, all downloads must be made from official and verified sources. Another recommendation is to activate and update software using functions/tools provided by genuine developers, as illegal product activation ("cracking") tools and third-party updates can contain malware.

It is paramount for device integrity and user safety to have a dependable anti-virus installed and kept updated. Security programs must be used to perform regular system scans and to remove threats/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 "Join Zoom Meeting" spam email letter:

Subject: - Join Zoom Meeting -

Join Zoom Meeting

-

Meeting ID: 231 767 1341

Host: Apex Consulting Ltd

Unsubscribe

Sent from my iPhone

Appearance of the fake Zoom website promoted by this spam campaign (GIF):

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Quick menu:

• What is "Join Zoom Meeting" 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?

Regardless of any relevant information that spam emails may include: they are not personal. This mail is distributed in massive operations – hence, 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 disclosed your log-in credentials – change the passwords of all potentially exposed accounts and inform their official support. However, if the provided information was of a different personal nature (e.g., passport photos/scans, ID card details, credit/debit card numbers, etc.) – immediately contact the corresponding authorities.

I have read a spam email but didn't open the attachment, is my computer infected?

Reading an email poses no infection threat; systems 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?

File formats can influence infection success rate. Once opened, executables cause infections almost without fail. However, some formats – like documents – may need additional interaction to initiate malware download/installation. Hence, it is only triggered after macro commands are enabled, embedded content is clicked, or other actions are performed.

Will Combo Cleaner remove malware infections present in email attachments?

Combo Cleaner is capable of detecting and removing practically all known malware infections. It must be stressed that running a complete system scan is crucial since high-end malicious software usually hides deep within systems.

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