How to recognize spam emails like "Overdue Contract Funds"

What kind of email is "Overdue Contract Funds"?

After reading this "Overdue Contract Funds" email, we determined that it is spam. It is presented as a letter from an established bank alerting the recipient of a ten million USD pending credit to the recipient's banking account.

It must be emphasized that the information in this email is false, and this mail is not associated with the real Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN). This phishing email targets personally identifiable information but may also seek victims' funds directly.

"Overdue Contract Funds" email scam overview

The spam email with the subject "Re: Payment instruction to credit your account with the sum of US$10,000,000.00??? 189.8" (may vary) is presented as a missive from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN). It informs the recipient of an instruction to credit their account with ten million USD. The message details the reason for releasing said funds and requests that the recipient confirm whether the named individual is their representative.

It must be stressed that the claims made by this email are false, and this mail is in no way associated with the Central Bank of Nigeria, JPMorgan Chase Bank, or any other legitimate entities and authorities.

The recipient is asked to provide their information: full name, age, sex, marital status, country of origin, work and home addresses, job title and position, personal and work contact details, banking data, and a copy/scan of their passport. Information of this kind can be used to steal victims' identities or for other nefarious purposes.

It is pertinent to mention that spam mail of this kind often seeks to trick victims into sending money to scammers. Cyber criminals can give legitimates-sounding reasons for transferring funds, such as paying taxes or fees.

In summary, victims of scam mail like "Overdue Contract Funds" can experience severe privacy issues, financial losses, and identity theft.

If you have already disclosed your personally identifiable or finance-related information to scammers – immediately contact the appropriate authorities.

Threat Summary:

Name	"Overdue Contract Funds" phishing email
Threat Type	Phishing, Scam, Social Engineering, Fraud
Fake Claim	Recipient's bank account is credited with 10 million USD.
Disguise	Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN)
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

"Loan Investment Opportunities For Your Business", "NPI Time", "Capital One - Account Restricted", and "Roundcube Account Will Be Suspended" are merely some of our latest articles on phishing campaigns.

These emails primarily target personally identifiable information, log-in credentials, and finance-related data. However, various scams are promoted through spam mail, and it is used to spread malware.

While the widely held belief that these emails are poorly written and riddled with mistakes is not untrue, it is not always the case. This mail can be competently crafted and even believably disguised as messages from genuine entities (e.g., service providers, authorities, companies, organizations, etc.).

How do spam campaigns infect computers?

Malware is commonly distributed via spam campaigns. Deceptive emails/messages can include malicious files as attachments or download links. These files can be documents (PDF, Microsoft Office, Microsoft OneNote, etc.), executables (.exe, .run, etc.), archives (ZIP, RAR, etc.), JavaScript, and so on.

Malware download/installation is jumpstarted once such a file is opened. However, some formats need extra interaction to initiate infection processes. For example, Microsoft Office files require users to enable macro commands (i.e., editing/content), while OneNote documents need them to click embedded links/files.

How to avoid installation of malware?

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

It must be mentioned that malware is not proliferated exclusively via spam mail. Therefore, we also advise vigilance when browsing since the Internet is full of deceptive and malicious content.

Additionally, all downloads must be performed from official and trustworthy channels. Software must be activated using functions/tools provided by legitimate developers, as illegal product activation tools ("cracks") and third-party updates may contain malware.

It is essential to device integrity and user safety to have a dependable anti-virus installed and kept updated. Security programs must be used to run 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 "Overdue Contract Funds" spam email letter:

Subject: Re: Payment instruction to credit your account with the sum of US$10,000,000.00??? 189.8

From: Pay Master General CBN
Telephone No: +234 807 906 4764
Dr. Abdu Abubakar
Debt Reconciliation/Payment,
Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN)

Attention: Beneficiary,

Dear. Sir

Re: Payment instruction to credit your account with the sum of US$10,000,000.00???

 

This is to notify you that your overdue contract funds have been gazetted to be released, via key telex transfer (KTT) direct wire transfer to you by the Senate house committee for foreign overdue fund transfer. Meanwhile, a woman wrote to my office a few days ago with a letter, claiming to be your True representative. All Over due Inheritance/contract Funds winner prize have been recalled to Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Both Africa and Asia and USA, Europe.

Here are her information's
BANK: JPMORGAN CHASE & CO. - LA1-1908
ADDRESS: 2911 W. 70TH STREET, SHREVEPORT, LOUISIANA, U.S.A., 71108
Account Name:Elizabeth Rose Tolson
ROUTING NO: 065400137
ACCOUNT NO: 752649939
SWIFT CODE: CHASUS33
PERSONAL BANKER: MICHAEL COOPER

Please, do reconfirm to this office, as a matter of urgency if this woman is from you So that the Bank will not be held responsible for paying into the wrong account Name. Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has been approved and accredited by the Federal Ministry Of Finance and the Senate House committee for foreign overdue fund, to pay all foreign Overdue inheritance funds and contract to respective original beneficiaries this first quarter Payment of the year 2025.Base the meeting held with the Governor and board of directors of Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) on 10/02/2025
Meanwhile, you are advice to get back to my office immediately with the requested details to enable us have your correct details to wire your fund: Send your reply to this email address (paymastergeneralabdu@gmail.com)

 

1.Your First/Middle & Last Name:
2.Your Full Office or Residential Address:
3.Your Original Country of Origin:
4.Age/Sex/Marital Status:
5.Position Held in Office:
6.Present Occupation:
7.Office Telephone/Fax:
8.Residential Tel/Fax & Mobile Line:
9.Banking Details:
10. The Official Amount Owed To You:
11. The Country Where you are expecting your claim from:
12.A certified Copy of your international passport or any scanned

However, we shall proceed to issue all payments details to the said Elizabeth Rose Tolson, if we do not hear from you within the next seven working days from today.

Your Sincerely,

Dr. Abdu Abubakar
Pay Master General
Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN)

Appearance of the "Overdue Contract Funds" spam email (GIF):

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Quick menu:

• What is "Overdue Contract Funds" 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 details relevant to the recipients. This mail is sent out in large-scale operations – 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 potentially 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?

Opening/Reading an email does not pose an infection threat. Devices 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. Once opened, executables cause infections almost without fail. Some formats – like documents – may need additional interaction to initiate malware download/installation. Hence, the infection is only 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 capable of detecting and removing practically all known malware infections. It must be stressed that running a full system scan is essential since high-end malicious programs typically hide deep within systems.

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