Avoid having your email account stolen via fake "Pay Advice" emails

What kind of email is "Pay Advice"?

After examining this "Pay Advice" email, we determined that it is spam. It is presented as a notification concerning the recipient's payroll. It must be emphasized that this fake message is not associated with any legitimate service providers. The purpose of this spam mail is to deceive recipients into providing their email log-in credentials to a phishing site.

"Pay Advice" email scam overview

This spam email states that the recipient's payroll has been sent to them. The document can be viewed through "MyPay Inbox", but they may need to register beforehand. As mentioned in the introduction, the information in this message is false, and this mail is in no way associated with any genuine service providers or other entities.

The phishing website endorsed through this email is presented as a "Secured Document Portal". The page requests the user to provide their email account log-in credentials (password) to access the document. Phishing sites record entered information and send it to scammers.

Emails are highly targeted since they tend to contain incredibly sensitive information and might serve as an avenue for stealing the accounts, services, and platforms registered through them.

To expand upon how the unauthorized access may be abused, scammers can steal account owners' identities (e.g., emails, social networking/media, messengers, chats, etc.) and request loans or donations from contacts/friends, endorse scams, and spread malware by sharing malicious links or files.

Additionally, hijacked finance-related accounts (e.g., e-commerce, money transferring, digital wallets, online banking, etc.) can be used to make fraudulent transactions and online purchases.

To summarize, victims of scam mail like "Pay Advice" can experience severe privacy issues, financial losses, and identity theft.

If you have already entered your account credentials into a phishing webpage – immediately change the passwords of all possibly exposed accounts and inform their official support.

Threat Summary:

Name	"Pay Advice" phishing email
Threat Type	Phishing, Scam, Social Engineering, Fraud
Fake Claim	Recipient has been sent their payroll documents.
Related Domains	dghenpeng[.]com
Detection Names (dghenpeng[.]com)	Combo Cleaner (Phishing), CRDF (Malicious), Fortinet (Phishing), G-Data (Phishing), Sophos (Phishing), Full List Of Detections (VirusTotal)
Serving IP Address (dghenpeng[.]com)	104.21.64.1
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

We have investigated numerous spam campaigns; "cPanel - Service Update Notification", "Messages Blocked", "Password Reset Has Been Requested", and "Failed Login Attempt" are merely some of our latest articles on phishing emails.

The most commonly targeted data includes log-in credentials, personally identifiable details, and finance-related information. However, various scams are promoted through spam mail. It is also used to proliferate all kinds of malware.

While the widely 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 made and even believably disguised as messages from legitimate entities (e.g., service providers, companies, organizations, institutions, authorities, etc.).

How do spam campaigns infect computers?

Malware is commonly distributed via spam campaigns. Infectious files can be attached or linked inside spam emails/messages. These files come in various formats, e.g., documents (PDF, Microsoft Office, Microsoft OneNote, etc.), executables (.exe, .run, etc.), archives (RAR, ZIP, etc.), JavaScript, and so forth.

Merely opening a virulent file can be enough to jumpstart the infection chain. However, some formats require additional actions to begin downloading/installing malicious software. For example, Microsoft Office files need users to enable macro commands (i.e., editing/content), while OneNote documents require them to click embedded links/files.

How to avoid installation of malware?

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

However, malware is proliferated using various methods. Therefore, we advise vigilance when browsing since fake and dangerous online content usually appears legitimate and innocuous.

Another recommendation is to download only from official and trustworthy sources. Additionally, software must be activated and updated using genuine functions/tools, as illegal activation tools ("cracks") and third-party updaters can contain malware.

We must stress the importance of having a reputable anti-virus installed and kept up-to-date. Security programs must be used to perform 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 "Pay Advice" spam email letter:

Subject: ******** December Payroll Approval

.Payroll CSTA (*******) has sent you Pay Advice 2533.

View the document in your MyPay Inbox. (You may need to register first.)

If the link does not work, paste this in your browser:
https://mypay.********/Integration/Alex?recipient=********

-

Attaché MyPay is your own secure inbox for all your payroll documents. It's totally free and very easy to use. Find out more

Screenshot of the phishing website promoted by the "Pay Advice" spam campaign:

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 "Pay Advice" 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 are not personal, even if they include information relevant to the recipients. This mail is sent out in massive operations – hence, thousands of users receive identical (or incredibly similar) messages.

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 passwords of all potentially compromised accounts and inform their official support. However, if you have disclosed other private data (e.g., ID card details, passport photos/scans, credit card numbers, etc.) – contact relevant authorities without delay.

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

No, reading/opening an email will not trigger any infection 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 infected. However, you might have avoided this if it was a document (.doc, .xls, .one, .pdf, etc.). These formats require additional actions (e.g., enabling macros, clicking embedded content, etc.) to trigger malware download/installation.

Will Combo Cleaner remove malware infections present in email attachments?

Yes, Combo Cleaner can scan systems and eliminate all kinds of threats. It is capable of detecting and removing nearly all known malware infections. Note that since high-end malicious software usually hides deep within systems – performing a complete system scan is paramount for detection.

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