How to spot scam emails like "Timesheet Report"

What kind of scam is "Timesheet Report"?

Our team has examined the email and concluded that it is a phishing email designed to appear like a notification regarding a "timesheet report". The scammers behind it aim to lure recipients into opening the included link and entering personal information on a fake website. This email should be ignored to avoid any risks.

More about the "Timesheet Report" scam email

This phishing email "informs" the recipient about new information added to their timesheet. It includes a fake user ID and the date and time when the information was supposedly added. The email claims that a human resource representative completed the report and instructs the recipient to view and confirm the details by clicking a link labeled "View Timesheet".

Clicking this link leads to a fake website supposedly containing a timesheet statement report for 2025. This site also presents a fake sign-in form requesting users to verify their password by entering their login credentials (email address and password). The information entered on this deceptive page is sent to scammers.

If scammers obtain login credentials, they can try to access personal accounts. Depending on the type of accessed accounts, scammers can steal sensitive information, access private communications, perform unauthorized transactions, make fraudulent purchases, send phishing emails or messages to the victim's contacts, and more.

Additionally, they could sell the stolen credentials on the dark web to other cybercriminals for further exploitation. Therefore, it is important to recognize scam emails and ignore them (and never open links or files included in them).

Threat Summary:

Name	Timesheet Report Email Scam
Threat Type	Phishing, Scam, Social Engineering, Fraud
Fake Claim	New information has been added to your timesheet
Related Domain	parliamentry[.]es
Detection Names	Combo Cleaner (Malware), CRDF (Malicious), ESET (Phishing), Kaspersky (Phishing), VIPRE (Malware), Full List Of Detections (VirusTotal)
Disguise	Letter regarding a timesheet statement report
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. ▼ 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.

Similar scam emails in general

Phishing emails often share common traits: they appear urgent or important and prompt recipients to act quickly. They usually include links or attachments that lead to fake websites designed to steal sensitive information. Also, these emails often appear as legitimate communications from trusted sources.

It is important to note that fraudulent emails can also be used to distribute malicious software. Examples of phishing emails targeting personal information are "Email Password Must Be Reset", "Review Important Messages", and "Revalidate Email Or Lose Account".

How do spam campaigns infect computers?

Malware infiltrates computers through user interaction with malicious links or attachments. These attachments might be PDFs, Office documents, archives, scripts, or executable files, which can deploy malware after being opened or after additional actions are taken (e.g., macros in malicious documents are enabled).

Clicking links in such emails can direct users to malicious websites, potentially leading to automatic malware downloads or tricking users into installing harmful software. Regardless of the method, user action is required for malware to infiltrate.

How to avoid installation of malware?

When you receive emails that are irrelevant or unexpected, especially from unknown sources, do not open links or attachments (if they contain them), and do not respond to such emails. Also, avoid interacting with pop-ups or ads on questionable sites. Keep your system and applications up to date.

Use trusted antivirus or anti-malware software. Download files or apps from reputable sources, such as official websites or app stores. Do not download pirated software, keygens, or cracking tools. 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 "Timesheet Report" email letter:

Timesheet Report

******* ,

New information has been added to your Timesheet.

User ID:   *******
Date and Time Added: Wednesday, January 8, 2025 6:56 a.m.
Report Completed By:   ******* Human Resource

Please view and confirm below
View Timesheet

Phishing website included in this email:

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 Timesheet Report 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?

Usually, scammers distribute the same email to many recipients at once. These emails tend to be generic and lack personalization.

I have provided my personal information when tricked by this email, what should I do?

If your email address and password (or other login credentials) has been exposed, update your passwords immediately to safeguard your accounts. If you cannot access your accounts, contact their support.

I have downloaded and opened a malicious file attached to an email, is my computer infected?

The likelihood of malware infecting a system varies based on the file type and user interaction. For example, opening a malicious .exe file can cause an instant infection, whereas harmful MS Office documents typically need the user to enable macros before the malware is activated.

I have read the email but did not open the attachment, is my computer infected?

Reading an email is harmless. Malware can only be activated if you click on malicious links or open infected attachments.

Will Combo Cleaner remove malware infections that were present in email attachment?

Combo Cleaner can find and remove most kniwn malware, but a full system scan is necessary to detect and eliminate more advanced threats that might be deeply embedded in the system.

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