How to identify scam emails like "Portfolio Transfer"

What kind of email is "Portfolio Transfer"?

After reading this "Portfolio Transfer" email, we determined that it is spam. The letter claims to seek a trusted individual to manage a portfolio worth nearly sixty million for the next five to ten years. It must be stressed that all the information in this email is false, and this mail is not associated with any legitimate entities.

"Portfolio Transfer" email scam overview

The spam email with the subject "Urgent Investment & Portfolio Management Opportunity" (may) claims to be sent per the instructions of the CEO of MetLife on behalf of their client. Said confidential customer wishes to transfer their portfolio from Saudi Arabia for investing and safekeeping.

The recipient is offered to manage the $58.7 million portfolio for a period of 5-10 years. If the recipient is interested in this proposal, they are instructed to send their phone or WhatsApp number to the listed email address.

As mentioned in the introduction, all the claims made by this email are false. It must also be reiterated that this scam mail is in no way associated with the real MetLife, Inc. or the company's CEO.

Typically, spam campaigns of this kind target private information or victims' funds directly. Targeted data can include account log-in credentials (e.g., emails, social media, money transferring, online banking, etc.), personally identifiable details (e.g., ID card info, passport scans, etc.), and finance-related information (e.g., credit/debit card numbers, etc.). Alternatively, scammers can request to be sent money for legitimate-sounding reasons like taxes or fees.

To summarize, by trusting an email like "Portfolio Transfer" – users can experience severe privacy issues, financial losses, and identity theft.

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

Threat Summary:

Name	"Portfolio Transfer" spam email
Threat Type	Phishing, Scam, Social Engineering, Fraud
Fake Claim	Recipient is offered the opportunity to manage a $58.7 million portfolio.
Disguise	MetLife
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

"New Webmail 2.0", "Trust Wallet Sign-In Attempt", "Wedding Invitation", "Afrihost", "Capital One - Card Restricted", "International Lottery & Totalizator Systems", "Solvay - New Business Relationships", "Microsoft And AOL Sweepstakes", and "Parcels Containing ATM Cards" are merely some of our newest articles on spam emails.

Various scams are promoted through spam mail, such as phishing, technical support, refund, sextortion, etc. Malware is commonly distributed through these emails as well.

While the widely held belief that spam mail is poorly written and riddled with errors is not untrue, that is not always the case. These emails can be competently put together and even convincingly disguised as messages from genuine entities (e.g., companies, organizations, institutions, service providers, authorities, etc.).

How do spam campaigns infect computers?

Spam campaigns proliferate malware by distributing malicious files as attachments or download links. These files can be archives (ZIP, RAR, etc.), executables (.exe, .run, etc.), documents (Microsoft Office, Microsoft OneNote, PDF, etc.), JavaScript, and so on.

Merely opening an infectious file can be enough to initiate malware download/installation. However, some formats need additional interaction to trigger system 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 or files.

How to avoid installation of malware?

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

However, malware is spread using various methods. Therefore, we advise vigilance when browsing since the Internet is rife with deceptive and malicious content.

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

It is paramount for device integrity and user safety to have a reputable anti-virus installed and kept updated. 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 "Portfolio Transfer" spam email letter:

Subject: Urgent Investment & Portfolio Management Opportunity

Hello There,

Mr. Michel A. Khalaf, CEO of MetLife, has instructed me to reach out to you regarding one of his confidential clients who urgently seeks to transfer his portfolio of $58.7 million from Saudi Arabia to an overseas location for investment and safekeeping. This decision is driven by the significant challenges he is currently facing.

We are seeking a trusted individual to receive and manage this portfolio for a period of 5 to 10 years. If you are interested, please respond to this email with your direct phone number or WhatsApp number so we can discuss this matter further.

Please feel free to reach out if you require more details: michela.k@outlook.com

Best regards,

Joey Wu Zhuoyu

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Quick menu:

• What is "Portfolio Transfer" 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?

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 compromised accounts and inform their official support without delay. However, if you've disclosed other private information (e.g., ID card details, passport scans, credit card numbers, etc.) – immediately contact the corresponding authorities.

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

Merely reading an email is harmless; 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?

File formats can influence infection success rates. Once opened, executables (.exe, .run, etc.) cause infections almost without fail. However, some formats – like documents (.doc, .xls, .pdf, .one, etc.) – might need additional interaction initiate infection processes. 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 devices and eliminate all manner of threats. It can detect and remove most of the known malware infections. It must be emphasized that running a complete system scan is crucial since sophisticated malicious programs typically hide deep within systems.

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