How to recognize spam emails like "Payment For Goods And Services"

What kind of email is "Payment For Goods And Services"?

After inspecting this "Payment For Goods And Services" email, we determined that it is spam. This phishing email notifies the recipient that an exorbitant payment has been successful. Details of the supposed payment can be found in an attachment, which leads to a website targeting email account log-in credentials.

"Payment For Goods And Services" email scam overview

The spam email with the subject "Payment Confirmation" (may vary) informs the recipient that a $185,482.43 payment for goods and services has been made successfully. The attached document contains the payment details. It must be emphasized that the claims made by this email are false, and this mail is not associated with any real entities.

The attachment – "Payment Advice-stn_0027-1.pdf " (may vary) – instructs to – "see PDF below for your access and sign in to view payment document". This document includes a link for downloading the file; it leads to a phishing website.

The site depicted a blurred document in the background and in the foreground – a pop-up requesting the user to sign in with their email log-in credentials. Phishing websites record provided information and send it to scammers.

Stolen accounts can be variously misused, such as using sensitive data found therein for blackmail or other nefarious purposes or hijacking the accounts, services, and platforms registered through hijacked emails.

To expand upon the latter, scammers can steal account owners' identities (e.g., emails, social media, social networking, messengers, etc.) and request loans or donations from contacts/friends/followers, promote scams, and spread malware by sharing malicious files or links.

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

To summarize, by trusting an email like "Payment For Goods And Services" – users can experience severe privacy issues, financial losses, and identity theft.

If you have disclosed your log-in credentials to a phishing website or file – immediately change the passwords of all possibly exposed accounts and inform their official support.

Threat Summary:

Name	"Payment For Goods And Services" phishing email
Threat Type	Phishing, Scam, Social Engineering, Fraud
Fake Claim	$185,482.43 payment for goods and services has been successful.
Attachment(s)	Payment Advice-stn_0027-1.pdf (filename may vary)
Related Domains	infoverifyy10[.]de
Detection Names (infoverifyy10[.]de)	ESET (Phishing), alphaMountain.ai (Suspicious), Bfore.Ai PreCrime (Suspicious), Full List Of Detections (VirusTotal)
Serving IP Address (infoverifyy10[.]de)	185.181.104.242
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

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These campaigns commonly target log-in credentials, personally identifiable details, and finance-related information. Various scams are endorsed through spam mail, and it is used to proliferate all kinds of malware.

While these emails are often poorly written and riddled with mistakes, they can be competently made and even believably disguised as messages from legitimate entities (e.g., companies, service providers, organizations, institutions, authorities, etc.). Therefore, we highly recommend approaching incoming emails, PMs/DMs, SMSes, and other messages with caution.

How do spam campaigns infect computers?

Spam campaigns proliferate malware by distributing malicious files as attachments or links. These files come in various formats, e.g., archives (ZIP, RAR, etc.), executables (.exe, .run, etc.), documents (Microsoft Office, Microsoft OneNote, PDF, etc.), JavaScript, and so on.

Merely opening a virulent file can be enough to initiate malware download/installation. However, some formats need additional actions to trigger 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 strongly recommend vigilance with incoming emails, PMs/DMs, SMSes, and other messages. Attachments or links present in suspect mail must not be opened, as they can be harmful or infectious.

However, malware is proliferated using various methods. Therefore, we advise being careful when browsing since the Internet is full of deceptive and dangerous content.

Additionally, all downloads must be performed from official and trustworthy channels. Another recommendation is to activate and update programs using genuine functions/tools, as illegal activation tools ("cracks") and third-party updates can contain malware.

It is essential to have a reputable anti-virus installed and kept up-to-date. Security programs must be used to run 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 "Payment For Goods And Services" spam email letter:

Subject: Payment Confirmation

Dear -,

I hope this message finds you well.

I am writing to confirm that a payment of $185,482.43 has been successfully made for goods and services. Please find the payment details in the attached document for your reference.

If you have any questions or need further clarification, please don’t hesitate to reach out. I’m happy to assist.

Thank you for your attention to this matter. I look forward to your confirmation.

Best regards,

John Hayes

JACK HAYES PILATES LLC

60 W 71st St, New York, NY 10023, United States

Screenshot of the file attached to this spam email ("Payment Advice-stn_0027-1.pdf"):

Screenshot of the phishing website promoted through this attachment:

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Quick menu:

• What is "Payment For Goods And Services" 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?

Even if a spam email includes relevant information – that does not make it personal. Cyber criminals send out these messages by the thousand with the hopes that at least some recipients will fall for their scams.

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

If you provided your log-in credentials – change the passwords of all possibly exposed accounts and inform their official support without delay. However, if you've disclosed other private information (e.g., ID card details, passport photos/scans, credit card numbers, etc.) – immediately contact relevant authorities.

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

Reading an email is harmless; 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?

File formats impact infection success rates. Once opened, executables (.exe, .run, etc.) cause infections almost without fail. However, some formats – like documents (.doc, .xls, .pdf, .one, etc.) – need additional actions. For example, malware download/installation is triggered after macros are enabled, embedded content is clicked, or other actions are performed.

Will Combo Cleaner remove malware infections present in email attachments?

Combo Cleaner is designed to scan systems and remove all kinds of threats. It can detect and eliminate most of the known malware infections. Remember that running a full system scan is paramount since high-end malicious software typically hides deep within systems.

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