How to recognize fake emails like "Internet Fraudsters Arrested"

What kind of email is "Internet Fraudsters Arrested"?

After reading this "Internet Fraudsters Arrested", we determined that it is fake. This spam letter states that online scammers who had previously defrauded the recipient have been arrested, and the courts have ordered the Spanish government to compensate them two million euros.

It must be emphasized that this email is not associated with any legitimate entities. This spam mail likely aims to deceive recipients into disclosing private information or sending money to cyber criminals.

"Internet Fraudsters Arrested" email scam overview

The spam email with the subject "From the Crime Fraud Investigation Department Spain" (may vary) is supposedly a missive from an American detective working with a department of the Spanish crime/fraud investigative branch.

The message informs the recipient that scammers who had defrauded them have been arrested and charged. The Spanish government has been ordered to compensate the victims; thus, the recipient is eligible to receive two million EUR in compensation. The email instructs to contact the named barrister to claim the funds.

It must be reiterated that all the information in this message is false, and this mail is not associated with the Supreme Court of Spain or any other genuine governmental entities of Spain.

This type of spam mail often seeks to trick victims into disclosing sensitive data, such as personally identifiable information (e.g., ID card details, passport scans/photos, etc.) or finance-related data (e.g., online banking account log-in credentials, credit/debit card numbers, etc.).

Additionally, the cyber criminals behind this campaign may ask to be sent money for legitimate-sounding reasons like paying taxes or fees.

To summarize, victims of scam mail like "Internet Fraudsters Arrested" can experience severe privacy issues, financial losses, and identity theft.

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

Spam campaigns in general

Spam campaigns promote a wide variety of scams and distribute all kinds of malware. Various lures are used to gain recipients' interest and trust, such as claims concerning compensations/refunds, payments/invoices, subscription cancellations/renewals, account issues, security concerns, pending messages, expired passwords, inheritances, lotteries, blackmail attempts, etc.

While the widely held belief that spam emails are poorly written and riddled with grammatical/spelling errors is not untrue, it is not always the case. This mail can be competently crafted and even convincingly disguised as messages from legitimate entities (e.g., authorities, institutions, organizations, service providers, companies, etc.).

"Server (IMAP) Session Authentication", "Chase - Transfer Is Processing And Will Be Deducted", "Two-Factor Authentication Activation", "VoxFlowG USDT Airdrop", "Business Proposal Meeting", "Overdue Payment", "Mailbox Problem Identified", and "Covid-19 Response Fund" are merely some of our newest articles on spam campaigns.

How do spam campaigns infect computers?

Utilizing spam campaigns is common in malware distribution. Spam emails/messages can include infectious files as attachments or download links. These files come in various formats, e.g., documents (Microsoft Office, Microsoft OneNote, PDF, etc.), executables (.exe, .run, etc.), archives (ZIP, RAR, etc.), JavaScript, and so forth.

Once an infectious file is executed, run, or otherwise opened – the infection chain is initiated. However, some formats require additional user interaction to trigger malware download/installation. For example, Microsoft Office files need users to enable macro commands (i.e., content/editing), while OneNote documents require them to click embedded links or files.

How to avoid installation of malware?

We strongly advise approaching incoming emails, PMs/DMs, SMSes, and other messages with care. Attachments or links present in suspect mail must not be opened, as they can be harmful or infectious.

It must be mentioned that malware is proliferated using various techniques. Therefore, we recommend vigilance when browsing since the Internet is rife with fraudulent and dangerous content.

Furthermore, all downloads must be performed from official and verified channels. Another recommendation is to activate and update software using functions/tools provided by legitimate developers, as illegal activation tools ("cracks") and third-party updaters may contain malware.

It is essential for device/user safety 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. 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 "Internet Fraudsters Arrested" spam email letter:

Subject: From the Crime Fraud Investigation Department Spain.

From the Crime Fraud Investigation Department Spain.

This is Roger Louis, United States detective working under Spanish police on Cyber Crime and Internet Fraud.

Be informed that the internet fraudsters who defraud you have been arrested and charged to court, last Friday was the final judgement, The court has ordered the Spanish Government to pay you compensation and damages for all the money you lose to those fraudsters, in which the crime are committed by South Americans and Africans living over here in Spain.

This is to notify you that The Supreme Court of Spain has ordered the Spanish Government to pay you compensation and damages, The sum of Ђ2,000.000.00 {Two Million Euros ) has been approved to you in order to compensate you for all the money you lose to those internet fraudsters in Spain.

The Policнa Nacional Crime Fraud Investigation Department Spain is very pleased to inform you that your information has been passed to Barrister George Hernбndez for immediate transfer of your compensation funds from the Spanish Government.

Barrister George Hernбndez will help you claim your compensation fund from the Spanish Government, You should contact Barrister George Hernбndez on this email address below.

Contact person : Barrister George Hernбndez from Principal Attorney George Hernбndez & Asociados Corporate and Finance Law Firm Madrid, Spain.
Contact email: ( barrjhgeorge7798@gmail.com )
Contact Address- Address- Avda Reina Victoria 58 - Esc. 1, 1єA 28003

If you are interested in receiving the compensation funds Ђ2,000.000.00 - Two Million Euros, You should contact Barrister George Hernбndez on this email address: ( barrjhgeorge7798@gmail.com ), He will direct you on how to receive your funds.

When contacting the Barrister, Please ask for his ID Card, for you to be sure you are in contact with the right person.

Thank you and Congratulation in advance

Best Regards

Roger Louis
United States detective working under Spanish police on
Cyber Crime and Internet Fraud.

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Quick menu:

• What is "Internet Fraudsters Arrested" 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 information relevant to the recipient – that does not make it personal. Cyber criminals distribute this mail 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 have provided your log-in credentials – change the passwords of all possibly compromised accounts and inform their official support. However, if you have disclosed other private data (e.g., ID card details, passport photos/scans, credit/debit card numbers, etc.) – contact the corresponding authorities without delay.

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

No, merely reading an email does not pose an infection threat. 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?

If the opened file was an executable (.exe, .run, etc.) – most likely, yes – the system was infected. However, you might have avoided this if it was a document (.doc, .xls, .pdf, etc.). These formats may require additional user interaction to initiate infection processes (e.g., enabling macros, clicking embedded files/links, etc.).

Will Combo Cleaner remove malware infections present in email attachments?

Yes, Combo Cleaner is designed to scan computers and eliminate all kinds of threats. It can detect and remove most of the known malware infections. Note that high-end malicious programs tend to hide deep within systems – therefore, performing a full system scan is paramount.