How to spot scams like "Important Invoice Information From Accounts"
Written by Tomas Meskauskas on
What is "Important Invoice Information From Accounts"?
During our inspection, we identified this as a phishing email disguised as a message about important invoice details. The scammers use this email to steal personal information from recipients. Their goal is to lure recipients into entering details on a phishing website. Recipients should ignore this email.
More about the "Important Invoice Information From Accounts" scam email
The phishing email is designed to appear as a message from an accounting department. It contains a link labeled "Overdue and_Paid Invoices_OCT. 2024.pdf", supposedly a download link for an invoice. The email also claims that within this document, some invoices are overdue, marked in red, while others, marked in green, have been paid.
Clicking the provided link opens a deceptive page that displays a credential-stealing form (a fake sign-in form instructing users to enter their email account login credentials to verify their identity). The information provided on the fake page is sent to scammers who can misuse it for malicious purposes.
When scammers extract login credentials from victims, they can access email accounts, view private emails with personal, financial information, and other information, and reset passwords for other linked accounts (e.g., social media or banking accounts). They can also impersonate the victim to send phishing emails, malicious files/software, or links to contacts.
Stolen login credentials (and other details) may also be sold on the dark web to other criminals. So, it is important to be cautious with emails containing suspicious files or links.
| Name | Important Invoice Information From Accounts Email Scam |
| Threat Type | Phishing, Scam, Social Engineering, Fraud |
| Related Domain | s3.timeweb[.]cloud |
| Detection Names | AlphaSOC (Malware), Certego (Phishing), Fortinet (Phishing), Lionic (Phishing), Sophos (Phishing), Full List Of Detections (VirusTotal) |
| Disguise | Letter regading an invoice |
| 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
Most phishing emails contain links (or attachments) leading to fake login forms or similar content to deceive recipients into disclosing login credentials, ID card details, or other personal information. They often contain logos, addresses, names of fake (or real) people or companies, etc., to appear legitimate.
By identifying these symptoms, users can protect themselves from financial fraud, identity theft, and other potential dangers. It is important to note that fraudsters can use deceptive emails to deliver malware. Examples of phishing emails are "Maximum Mailbox Space Allowed", "Payment Has Been Sent", "MetaMask Wallet Verification".
How do spam campaigns infect computers?
Cybercriminals often spread malware through emails by attaching infected files or adding malicious links. Opening these files (e.g., documents, scripts, or executable files) can inject malware into the system, though some may need extra user action to activate.
For example, malware in Microsoft Office files only runs if the user enables macros. Links in these emails can lead to websites that trick users into downloading malware or begin downloading malware automatically.
How to avoid installation of malware?
Only download software and files from official websites or trusted app stores. Avoid downloading pirated software, cracking tools, or key generators and using P2P networks, free file hosting sites, third-party downloaders, unofficial pages, etc. Do not open files or links from unknown senders, especially if the email is unexpected or irrelevant.
Be cautious of ads and pop-ups on untrustworthy websites, and regularly scan your system with a reliable security program. Also, keep the operating system and installed apps up to date. 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 "Important Invoice Information From Accounts" email letter:
Subject: RE- Account Reconciliation for SOA-Paid Overdue Invoices.
Important Invoice Information from Accounts
Please note that invoices highlighted in red are overdue, while those in green have been paid.
Overdue and_Paid Invoices_OCT. 2024.pdfDOWNLOAD
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Phishing website used in this scam:
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Quick menu:
- What is Important Invoice Information From Accounts 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 frequently send the same email to many people, making the messages generic and not personalized. Also, they collect email addresses from data breaches and other sources.
I have provided my personal information when tricked by this email, what should I do?
Change your email account password. Also, keep an eye on your account for any unusual activity and review other accounts that might use the same login details.
I have downloaded and opened a file attached to an email, is my computer infected?
The risk of infection depends on the type of file. Executable files pose a higher risk, while document files like .pdf or .doc are generally safer because they do not automatically launch malware (they require additional user action to do so).
I have read the email but did not open the attachment, is my computer infected?
You can safely open and read emails as long as you do not open any suspicious files or links.
Will Combo Cleaner remove malware infections that were present in email attachment?
Combo Cleaner is effective at detecting and removing most types of malware, but advanced malware can hide deeply in the system. To ensure complete removal, a full system scan may be necessary.
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