Avoid getting scammed by fake "Qatar Foundation" emails
Written by Tomas Meskauskas on
What kind of email is "Qatar Foundation"?
After reading this "Qatar Foundation" email, we determined that it is spam. This fake message is presented as a congratulatory alert from the Qatar Foundation. It claims the recipient was chosen as the winner of a sum close to one million euros.
The likely purpose of this spam mail is to trick victims into disclosing their personal information and/or sending the scammers money.
"Qatar Foundation" email scam overview
The spam email with the subject "You Have Won!!!" (may vary) informs the recipient that they have been chosen to receive 995,000 euros as charity/aid. The recipient is required to respond to the sender for more information.
It must be stressed that the information in this message is false, and this email is in no way associated with the actual Qatar Foundation for Education, Science and Community Development (Qatar Foundation).
Spam mail of this kind tends to target sensitive information like personally identifiable details or finance-related data (e.g., ID card details, passport photos/scans, credit/debit card numbers, online bank account log-in credentials, etc.). Scammers may also request fake taxes or fees to be paid, thus tricking the victim into sending them money.
To summarize, by trusting an email like "Qatar Foundation" – users can experience severe privacy issues, financial losses, and identity theft.
If you have provided your personally identifiable or financial information to cyber criminals – immediately contact the appropriate authorities.
| Name | "Qatar Foundation" spam email |
| Threat Type | Phishing, Scam, Social Engineering, Fraud |
| Fake Claim | Email recipient has been selected to receive 995k euros. |
| Disguise | Qatar Foundation |
| 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. |
Spam campaigns in general
Spam emails are used for various purposes, including to promote scams and proliferate malware. Lures are used to gain recipients' trust, such as claims concerning philanthropy, lotteries, inheritances, account issues, expired passwords, security upgrades, invoices/payments, business offers, refunds, etc.
While the commonly held belief that spam emails are poorly written and rife with grammatical/spelling mistakes is not untrue – it is not always the case. These letters can be competently put together and even believably disguised as messages from legitimate organizations, companies, institutions, service providers, authorities, and other entities.
"Special Holiday Gift For You", "Your Office Account Storage Is Nearly Full", "Re-Activate Your Mailbox Address", "Zoho WorkDrive email scam", "Contract/Inheritance/Winning Payment", "DHL - Customs Clearance", "Vendor Registration Process", and "I Have Penetrated Your Device's Operating System" are just some of our latest articles on spam campaigns.
Due to how widespread spam mail is and how well-crafted it can be – we highly recommend exercising caution with incoming emails, DMs/PMs, SMSes, and other messages.
How do spam campaigns infect computers?
Spam campaigns proliferate malware by distributing malicious 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 an infectious file can be enough to trigger malware download/installation. However, some formats require additional user interaction to initiate system 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?
It is essential to approach incoming emails and other messages with caution. Attachments or links present in suspect/irrelevant mail must not be opened, as they can be harmful or virulent.
It must be mentioned that malware is not spread exclusively through spam mail. Therefore, we recommend being careful while browsing since the Internet is full of deceptive and malicious content.
Another recommendation is to download only from official and verified sources. Additionally, all programs must be activated and updated using functions/tools provided by legitimate developers, as illegal activation tools ("cracks") and third-party updates may contain malware.
We must stress the importance of having a dependable anti-virus installed and kept updated. Security software must be used to perform regular system scans and to remove 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 "Qatar Foundation" spam email letter:
Subject: You Have Won!!!
Dear Beneficiary,
You have been selected to receive (995,000.00 EUROS) as charity donations /aid from the Qatar Foundation. Therefore, you are required to Reply back for more information.
Yours sincerely,
Mr. Rashid Al-Naimi.
Chief Executive Officer of Qatar Foundation Endowment.
Instant automatic malware removal:
Manual threat removal might be a lengthy and complicated process that requires advanced IT skills. Combo Cleaner is a professional automatic malware removal tool that is recommended to get rid of malware. Download it by clicking the button below:
▼ DOWNLOAD Combo Cleaner
By downloading any software listed on this website you agree to our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use. 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.
Quick menu:
- What is "Qatar Foundation" spam 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 are not personal, even if they include information relevant to the recipients. These messages are sent out in massive campaigns – 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 provided your log-in credentials – immediately change the password of all potentially exposed accounts and inform their official support without delay. However, if the disclosed information was of a different personal nature (e.g., passport photos/scans, ID card details, credit/debit card numbers, etc.) – contact the appropriate authorities without delay.
I have read a spam email but didn't open the attachment, is my computer infected?
Merely reading an email poses no infection threat; systems are compromised when malicious attachments or links are opened/clicked.
I have downloaded and opened a file attached to a spam email, is my computer infected?
Whether the device was infected might depend on the format of the opened file. Executables (.exe, .run, etc.) cause infections almost without fail. However, some formats – like documents (.doc, .xls, .one, .pdf, etc.) – might need additional user interaction to initiate malware download/installation, such as enabling macro commands, clicking embedded content, and so on.
Will Combo Cleaner remove malware infections present in email attachments?
Combo Cleaner is capable of detecting and eliminating practically all known malware infections. Remember that performing a complete system scan is essential since sophisticated malicious programs tend to hide deep within systems.
Outstanding!
▼ Show Discussion