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Embed A Malware On The Web Page Email Scam

Also Known As: Embed A Malware On The Web Page spam
Damage level: Severe

What is "Embed a malware on the web page Email Scam"?

"Embed a malware on the web page Email Scam" is categorized as spam email campaign. Typically, these campaigns are used to threaten people and trick them into paying to avoid shame or other "consequences", such as computer infections. In this case, cyber criminals claim that they have captured "the process of your onanism" (a video), and have stolen your personal data.

If you want to prevent supposed data loss and the video from being proliferated to all of your contacts, you are encouraged to pay a ransom. This is typical behaviour of cyber criminals and you should not worry.

Embed a malware on the web page Email Scam malware

You are probably one of thousands to receive this blackmail message. Developers of this spam campaign use "email spoofing", a method allowing them to deceive people regarding the email sender (in other words, the method is used to hide the actual sender).

In this case, the spoofing method is used to make the email appear as if it is sent from a legitimate sender, and thus the email is more often opened. It also makes it easier for cyber criminals to deceive people to pay a ransom for something that does not exist (in this case, an embarrassing video).

Cyber criminals claim that you have visited a pornographic website that is embedded with malware. The malware has supposedly captured a compromising video of you watching pornography, and has gained access to your personal files and contact list. Cyber criminals demand a ransom payment of 600 Euros (in Bitcoins) and give 30 hours for receipt.

If the ransom is not paid, they threaten to send the video to all contacts in the contacts list. In addition, they try to make people believe that they are able to monitor everything they do with their computers when they are turned on. None of this information is accurate and this is simply a scam.

These criminals hope that someone will take their threats seriously. Unfortunately, sometimes they succeed. We strongly recommend that you ignore this email and simply delete it. Apply this to all similar emails you might receive.

Threat Summary:
Name Embed A Malware On The Web Page Email Scam
Threat Type Phishing, Scam, Social Engineering, Fraud
Symptoms Unauthorized online purchases, changed online account passwords, identity theft, illegal access of one's 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)

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There are hundreds of other email campaigns that are similar to "Embed a malware on the web page Email Scam", such as Hacker Who Cracked Your Email And Device, Remote Control Desktop With A Key Logger, We Have Installed One RAT Software, and many more. 

Most of these campaigns share an identical goal - to threaten people and to trick them into paying a ransom. Some, however, do not make any ransom demands - they are used to trick users into opening a malicious attachments that will infect computers with a virus.

In most cases these attachments are presented as legitimate documents (bills, invoices, and so on) - they are usually Microsoft Office documents (.doc, .xls, .ppt, etc.). Do not open these attachments. They are used to proliferate high-risk viruses such as TrickBot, Adwind, FormBook, and so on. 

They are usually designed to extract users' banking account details, passwords, logins, and other sensitive/personal information. Some of these viruses are capable of opening "backdoors" that often cause ransomware-type virus infections. They can cause financial problems, data loss, or issues relating to browsing safety, privacy, and so on.

We receive a lot of feedback from concerned users about this scam email. Here is the most popular question that we receive:

Q: Hi pcrisk.com team, I received an email stating that my computer was hacked and they have a video of me. Now they are asking for a ransom in Bitcoins. I think this must be true because they listed my real name and password in the email. What should I do?

A: Do not worry about this email. Neither hackers nor cyber criminals have infiltrated/hacked your computer and there is no video of you watching pornography. Simply ignore the message and do not send any Bitcoins. Your email, name, and password was probably stolen from a compromised website such as  Yahoo (these website breaches are common). If you are concerned, you can check if your accounts have been compromised by visiting haveibeenpwned website.

How do spam campaigns infect computers?

As mentioned above, some spam campaigns proliferate attachments (Microsoft Office documents) that contain/proliferate malware. Generally, once an attachment of this type is opened, it asks users to enable macro commands. If enabled, the attachments then download and install malware.

Note, however, that these malicious attachments are harmful only when they are opened using Microsoft Office products (Word, Excel, and so on). If other products are used to open the attachment, they will not be able to download and install malware. In summary, these particular spam campaigns target only Windows (Microsoft Office) users. Users of other operating systems are generally safe.

How to avoid installation of malware?

Do not open attachments sent from suspicious/unknown/irrelevant email addresses. If you are not sure if the email is trustworthy, do research using Google and see if you can find any information. Avoid using third party software downloaders or fake (unofficial) software updating tools. These are often used to proliferate rogue applications.

To update your software, use implemented functions or tools provided by official developers only. Download software from official and trustworthy websites and install it carefully. Software developers often use the "bundling" method to trick users into installing (or downloading) potentially unwanted applications.

Therefore, check "Custom", "Advanced" and other similar settings/options of the installation processes. Deselect offers to install unknown/suspicious software and only then finish the installation. If you are using Microsoft Office, we recommend that use versions that include "Protected View" mode.

This prevents downloaded files from downloading and installing malware. "Protected View" is available on Microsoft Office 2010 and later. If you have already opened malicious attachments, we recommend running a scan with Combo Cleaner Antivirus for Windows to automatically eliminate infiltrated malware.

Text presented in the "Embed a malware on the web page Email Scam" email message:

Subject: Hi, victim.

hello, victim.
I write you inasmuch as I embed a malware on the web page with porno which you have visited.
My malware captured all your personal data and turned on your camera which captured the process of your onanism. Just after that the virus saved your contact list.
I will erase the compromising video records and data if you send me 600 EURO in bitcoin.
This is wallet address for payment : 1JMSH4oDSuGteB46G7Yg1FLQXeqfVPJyyU

I give you 30h after you view my report for making the transaction.
As soon as you open the message I'll see it right away.
It is not necessary to tell me that you have sent money to me. This wallet address is connected to you, my system will delete everything automatically after transfer confirmation.
If you need 48h just Open the calculator on your desktop and press +++
If you don't pay, I'll send dirt to all your contacts.
Let me remind you-I see what you're doing!
You can visit the police station but nothing can't help you.
If you attempt to deceive me , I'll see it right away!
I don't live in your country. So anybody can't track my location even for 9 months.
Goodbye for now. Don't forget about the disgrace and to ignore, Your life can be ruined.

Instant automatic malware removal: Manual threat removal might be a lengthy and complicated process that requires advanced IT skills. Combo Cleaner is a professional automatic malware removal tool that is recommended to get rid of malware. Download it by clicking the button below:
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Quick menu:

Types of malicious emails:

Phishing email icon 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.

Email-virus icon 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 email icon 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:

Example of an email spam

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.

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About the author:

Tomas Meskauskas

Tomas Meskauskas - expert security researcher, professional malware analyst.

I am passionate about computer security and technology. I have an experience of over 10 years working in various companies related to computer technical issue solving and Internet security. I have been working as an author and editor for pcrisk.com since 2010. Follow me on Twitter and LinkedIn to stay informed about the latest online security threats. Contact Tomas Meskauskas.

PCrisk security portal is brought by a company RCS LT. Joined forces of security researchers help educate computer users about the latest online security threats. More information about the company RCS LT.

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Malware activity

Global malware activity level today:

Medium threat activity

Increased attack rate of infections detected within the last 24 hours.

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