Avoid getting scammed by fake "Looking To Forge New Partnerships" emails

What kind of email is "Looking To Forge New Partnerships"?

Upon inspection, we determined that "Looking To Forge New Partnerships" is a spam email. This message is presented as a business offer. It must be emphasized that this email is not associated with the actual Etihad Airways or any other legitimate entities.

In most cases, spam campaigns of this kind seek to proliferate malware, acquire private data, or trick users into sending money to cyber criminals.

"Looking To Forge New Partnerships" email scam overview

The spam email with the subject "Invitation to Partner" (may vary) is presented as a potential business offer from Etihad Airways. The sender seeks to establish a new partnership with industry experts.

Supposedly, the recipient's products and services were found to be impressive, and this prompted the offer. If the recipient is interested, upon confirmation, they will be sent an Expression of Interest (EOI), also known as an Invitation To Tender (ITT), and other relevant documents.

As mentioned in the introduction, all the information in this email is false, and this mail is not associated with the real Etihad Airways or any other genuine entities.

The goals of this scam email may vary. If upon communication, the recipient is indeed sent a file formatted as an EOI/ITT – these documents may require sensitive information to be filled out by contending companies, thus allowing scammers access to said data.

Alternatively, cyber criminals can send phishing files that may appear as convincing documents. Phishing files record entered information. Targeted data may include log-in credentials (e.g., emails, social networking, social media, e-commerce, etc.), personally identifiable information, or finance-related data (e.g., online bank account log-in credentials, credit/debit card numbers, etc.).

Victims could be sent malicious files intended to infect their devices (and potentially corporate networks) with trojans, ransomware, and other malware.

Scammers could email the recipients links that lead to phishing sites or ones that proliferate malicious software. In some cases, cyber criminals ask to be sent funds directly rather than relying on stealing accounts or using banking malware. Victims are provided with legitimate-sounding reasons like paying fees or taxes.

In summary, by trusting an email like "Looking To Forge New Partnerships" – users may experience system infections, severe privacy issues, financial losses, and identity theft.

If you have disclosed your log-in credentials – change the passwords of all possibly compromised accounts and inform their official support. And if you've provided personally identifiable or finance-related data to scammers – immediately contact the appropriate authorities.

Threat Summary:

Name	"Looking To Forge New Partnerships" spam email
Threat Type	Phishing, Scam, Social Engineering, Fraud
Disguise	Partnership offer from Etihad Airways
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.
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Spam campaigns in general

"Standard Bank UCount Rewards", "Federal Reserve Award", "Classified Documents", "Salary Review", "Donation From Frances and Patrick Connolly", and "Unclaimed Funds" are just some of our latest articles on spam campaigns.

These emails are used to promote various scams and distribute malware. They use a wide variety of lures/themes to gain recipients' interest and trust, e.g., business offers, payments/invoices, inheritances, lotteries, refunds, account issues, undelivered messages, security upgrades, subscription renewals, and so forth.

While the commonly held belief that spam emails are poorly written and riddled with mistakes is not untrue, it is not always the case. This mail can be competently put together and even convincingly disguised as messages from legitimate companies, organizations, service providers, authorities, and other entities.

How do spam campaigns infect computers?

Spam campaigns spread malware by distributing virulent files as attachments or download links. These files can be 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 initiate malware download/installation. However, certain formats may need extra actions to jumpstart infection processes. For example, Microsoft Office files require users to enable macro commands (i.e., editing/content), while OneNote documents need them to click on embedded links or files.

How to avoid installation of malware?

We highly recommend approaching incoming emails and other messages with caution. Attachments or links found in suspect/irrelevant mail must not be opened, as they can be harmful or virulent.

However, malware is distributed using various methods. Therefore, we advise being vigilant while browsing since the Internet is full of deceptive and malicious content.

Furthermore, all downloads must be performed from official and verified sources. Another recommendation is to activate and update programs using functions/tools provided by genuine developers, as those acquired from third-parties may contain malware.

It is essential for device/user safety to have a reputable anti-virus installed and kept updated. Security software must be used to run regular system scans and to remove detected threats. 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 "Looking To Forge New Partnerships" spam email letter:

Subject: Invitation to Partner

Dear Team,

At Etihad Airways PJSC, excellence is at the heart of everything we do.

In our pursuit to maintain and elevate the standards of our services, we are looking to forge new partnerships with industry experts whose activities resonate with our commitment to quality, innovation, and customer satisfaction.

Having reviewed your company's array of products and services, we are impressed by the potential synergy between our goals and what you offer. It is with this in mind that we extend a cordial invitation to your esteemed company to explore possible collaboration avenues with us.

Should this opportunity interest you, upon receipt of your affirmation, we will immediately issue the Expression of Interest (EOI) registration forms along with any other necessary
documentation to advance to the next stages of partnership discussion.

We are enthusiastic about the potential of working together and are keen to see how our collaboration can bring about mutual benefits and contribute to delivering exceptional experiences to our customers. Thank you for considering this invitation.

Mohammed Mansour
Procurement Executive.

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Quick menu:

• What is "Looking To Forge New Partnerships" 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?

Even if a spam email includes details relevant to the recipients – that does not make it personal. These messages are sent out in large-scale campaigns; therefore, 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 – change the passwords of all possibly exposed accounts and inform their official support without delay. However, if the disclosed information was of a different personal nature (e.g., ID card details, passport photos/scans, credit/debit card numbers, etc.) – immediately contact the appropriate authorities.

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

Reading an email does not pose an infection threat; systems 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?

Whether the device was infected might depend on the format of the opened file. If it was an executable – most likely, yes. However, you might have avoided the infection if it was a document. These formats might need additional actions (e.g., enabling macros, clicking embedded files/links, etc.) to initiate malware download/installation processes.

Will Combo Cleaner remove malware infections present in email attachments?

Combo Cleaner is designed to scan systems and eliminate all kinds of threats. It can detect and remove most of the known malware infections. It must be stressed that performing a complete system scan is crucial since sophisticated malicious programs tend to hide deep within systems.

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