How to recognize fake "United Nations - Scam Victim Compensation" emails

What kind of email is "United Nations - Scam Victim Compensation"?

Upon reading this "United Nations - Scam Victim Compensation" email, we determined that it is spam. This is a phishing scam that targets recipients' personal information by claiming that they will be reimbursed nine hundred thousand USD from a fund for scam victims.

It must be emphasized that this spam mail is not associated with any legitimate entities. Scammers behind this campaign may also request payment from recipients.

"United Nations - Scam Victim Compensation" email scam overview

This spam message claims that the "Scammed Victims Compensation Payment" intended for the email recipient has been approved by the UN (United Nations). It is known that the recipient has been scammed by a group claiming to be government officials. The scammers were arrested and have confessed to their crimes. Their confession has led the UN to approve a 900 thousand USD compensation to the recipient.

The sum will be delivered to them in an ATM card with a 9 thousand daily withdrawal limit. The recipient is asked to provide their full name, address, and telephone number – so that the card may be sent to them.

It must be emphasized that all the information in this email is false, and this mail is not associated with the actual United Nations or any other genuine entities.

It is noteworthy that the scammers may request even more sensitive data, such as a copy of the recipient's passport or ID card. They may also be asked to send money for legitimate-sounding reasons like paying taxes or fees.

To summarize, victims of scam mail like "United Nations - Scam Victim Compensation" can experience system infections, severe privacy issues, financial losses, and identity theft. If you have disclosed personally identifiable or finance-related information to scammers – contact the appropriate authorities without delay.

Phishing spam campaign examples

We have investigated numerous spam emails; "Account Update Notification", "Service Desk", "Account Security Info", "Someone Entered Correct Password For Your Account", and "DOGE Compensation To Fraud Victims Worldwide" are just a few of our latest articles on phishing campaigns.

These messages mainly target personally identifiable information, log-in credentials, and finance-related data. However, various scams are promoted through spam mail, including technical support, advance fee, refund, sextortion, etc. Deceptive emails are also utilized in malware distribution.

Due to how widespread spam mail is and how well-made it can be – we strongly recommend approaching incoming emails, PMs/DMs, SMSes, and other messages with caution.

How do spam campaigns infect computers?

Malware is commonly spread through spam campaigns. Infectious files are either attached or linked inside the spam emails/messages. These files come in various formats, e.g., executables (.exe, .run, etc.), archives (RAR, ZIP, etc.), documents (Microsoft Office, Microsoft OneNote, PDF, etc.), JavaScript, and so forth.

Merely opening such a file can be enough to trigger the infection chain. Some formats might need additional actions to jumpstart malware infiltration. 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 advise caution with incoming emails and other messages. Attachments or links found in suspect/irrelevant mail must not be opened, as they can be harmful or virulent.

However, malware is proliferated using various techniques. Therefore, we recommend vigilance when browsing since the Internet is full of deceptive and dangerous content.

Another recommendation is to download only from official and verified sources. Software must be activated and updated using legitimate functions/tools, as illegal activation tools ("cracks") and third-party updates can contain malware.

We must emphasize the importance of having a dependable antivirus installed and kept up-to-date. 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 "United Nations - Scam Victim Compensation" spam email letter:

Subject: RE: THE UNITED NATIONS AIDS AND AWARENESS SCHEME

RE: THE UNITED NATIONS AIDS AND AWARENESS SCHEME. SCAMMED VICTIMS PAYMENT COMPENSATION OF US$900,000.00 (REF: CODE: 06654.)

Dear Sir/Madam,

Scammed Victims Compensation Payment has been approved by The United Nations. Your name was listed for this compensation payment after Ronald, Gibson, Williams and their groups, who claimed to be the government officials were arrested and they confessed of scamming you a lot of money sometime ago.

It was based on this confession that the United Nation Scammed Victims Compensation department decided to reimburse you with the sum of US$900,000.00 in a valid ATM Card.

You are advised to contact our Regional Manager and do send him YOUR FULL NAME, CONTACT ADDRESS and CONTACT NUMBER where you want your Card to be sent to thus,

BARRISTER DAVID CHARLES
UNITED NATIONS AGENCY.
HEAD QUARTER
DIPLOMATIC ZONE, ABUJA, NIGERIA
EMAIL: TEST@SSTRIPP.COM

Please, contact him as soon as you receive this mail for your Special ATM CARD loaded with US$900,000.00 for your compensation as we confirmed you of being Scammed from our Scam List. Your Daily Limit Withdrawal is $9,000.00.

Thank you and have a Nice Day.

Yours Sincerely,
Antonio Guterress
[UN Secretary General]
cc: Ana Maria Menéndez [Senior Adviser On Policy]

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Quick menu:

• What is "United Nations - Scam Victim Compensation" 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. They are distributed by the thousand, with scammers hoping that at least some recipients will fall for the scam.

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 you've disclosed other private data (e.g., ID card details, credit/debit 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; 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 cause infections almost without fail. However, you might have avoided the infection if it was a document. Some formats require additional actions (e.g., clicking embedded content, enabling macros, etc.) to initiate malware download/installation.

Will Combo Cleaner remove malware infections present in email attachments?

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