How to avoid falling for scams like "Christmas Sample"
Written by Tomas Meskauskas on
What kind of scam is "Christmas Sample"?
We have examined the email and found that it is designed to extract sensitive information from recipients. The scammers behind it use a fake website to steal data. Such fraudulent messages are known as phishing emails and should be ignored to avoid identity theft, financial loss, or other consequences.
More about the "Christmas Sample" scam email
This phishing email attempts to deceive the recipient by using the subject line "Christmas samples Delivery Note". It claims that "Christmas samples" have been shipped to the recipient's address for review and order. It also requests the recipient confirm receipt of the samples and encourages the recipient to open an attachment.
Additionally, the email contains a fake image of an attachment (supposedly a file named "VIJAY BLINDS.pdf" and a button/link labeled "View Invoice.pdf". Clicking this button leads to a fake website imitating an Adobe ID sign-in page and requesting to enter a password. The entered information is sent to scammers who can use it for malicious purposes.
With extracted login credentials, scammers might access personal accounts like email, social media, and banking and steal funds or sensitive data. Stolen credentials can also be used to commit identity theft and make fraudulent purchases.
Scammers may also sell these credentials on dark web marketplaces or use them to launch further attacks, such as phishing campaigns targeting the victim's contacts. The scope of the harm caused depends on what accounts fraudsters can access with the obtained login information.
| Name | Christmas Sample Email Scam |
| Threat Type | Phishing, Scam, Social Engineering, Fraud |
| Fake Claim | Someone has shipped Christmas samples to recipients |
| Disguise | Delivery note |
| Symptoms | Generic greeting, urgent language, suspicious links, grammatical errors. |
| 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
Usually, these emails are designed to trick recipients into revealing sensitive information, such as login credentials, credit card numbers, or other details. They often appear to come from trusted sources, like banks or well-known companies and contain urgent requests and links to fake websites.
Examples of similar emails are "DHL - INCOMING PACKAGE NOTIFICATION", "Email Account Is Outdated", and "Domain Service Sent A De-activation Notice". Deceptive emails are also used to distribute malicious software.
How do spam campaigns infect computers?
Emails used to deliver malware can contain malicious attachments or links. Attached files can inject malware upon opening or taking additional steps. For instance, malicious executables can infect computers right after being opened, and malicious MS Office documents can inject malware after enabling macros commands.
When emails include malicious links, they are used to deceive users into downloading harmful files or programs from unreliable pages or open websites created to trigger automatic malicious downloads. Either way, malware typically needs user interaction to infect a system.
How to avoid installation of malware?
Do not open files or links in unexpected emails from unknown addresses. Always examine emails before opening their contents. Ensure your security software, apps, and operating systems are regularly updated. Download software from reputable sources, such as official websites or app stores. Do not use shady pages, P2P networks, third-party downloaders, etc., to download apps or files.
Avoid interacting with pop-ups, links, or ads on unreliable websites, and do not accept notifications from suspicious sites. Protect your computer with a trusted security tool. 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 "Christmas Sample" email letter:
Subject: RE: Christmas samples Delivery Note
Dear -
We have shipped out our Christmas samples to our beloved customers for checking and order
Kindly check and confirm receipt of high quality samples delivery to your address as insert shipping invoice attached for your quick action.
Fake sign-in page used to steal information:
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Quick menu:
- What is Christmas Sample 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?
You received a scam email because scammers often target individuals randomly, hoping to deceive at least some recipients.
I have provided my personal information when tricked by this email, what should I do?
If you have shared any account details, change your passwords right away. If you have given personal information like credit card or ID details, contact the relevant authorities immediately.
I have downloaded and opened a file attached to this email, is my computer infected?
If the file was an executable, it is highly likely that your system is infected. However, if it was a document (like a .pdf or .doc), you might have avoided infection, as simply opening a document does not always trigger malware, unless macros commands are enabled. Overall, it depends on the file type.
I have read the email but did not open the attachment, is my computer infected?
No, opening an email is safe. Computer infections can be caused by opening files or links in emails.
Will Combo Cleaner remove malware infections that were present in email attachment?
Yes, Combo Cleaner can detect and remove most known malware infections. However, advanced malware may hide deeply within the system, so running a full system to ensure complete removal might be required.
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