Avoid having your bank account stolen via fake "Banca Sella" emails
Written by Tomas Meskauskas on
"Banca Sella email scam" removal guide
What is the "Banca Sella" scam email?
"Banca Sella email scam" refers to a spam campaign. This term defines a mass-scale operation during which thousands of deceptive emails are sent. The scam letters sent through this campaign - are presented as emails from Banca Sella - a genuine Italian bank based in Biella, Piedmont. The fake letters claim that recipients have an important message waiting for them. The scammers behind this spam campaign aim to gain access/control over recipients' Banca Sella bank accounts - by promoting a phishing website disguised as a sign-in page.
According to a rough translation, the "Banca Sella" scam emails (subject/title "Un nuovo importante messaggio."; may vary) inform recipients that they have an unread important message in the reserved area of their Banca Sella accounts. To view the nonexistent message, recipients are instructed to click the link presented in the letters. This link redirects to a phishing site, which is disguised as the Banca Sella sign-in page. Log-in credentials (i.e., usernames and passwords) entered into this webpage will be unintentionally revealed to the scammers behind the spam campaign, thereby allowing them to steal the corresponding bank accounts. Therefore, by trusting these scam emails, recipients can have their Banca Sella accounts hijacked and experience significant financial losses. If attempts to sign-in via the phishing website have already been made, it is strongly advised to immediately change the potentially compromised accounts' passwords. Additionally, it is recommended to contact the official Banca Sella support.
| Name | Banca Sella Email Scam |
| Threat Type | Phishing, Scam, Social Engineering, Fraud |
| Fake Claim | Scam emails claim recipients have an important unread message in their Banca Sella accounts. |
| Disguise | Scam emails are disguised as letters from Banca Sella |
| Related Domains | agenziaaurora[.]com |
| Detection Names (agenziaaurora[.]com) | Emsisoft (Phishing), Fortinet (Phishing), Kaspersky (Phishing), Netcraft (Malicious), Sophos (Phishing), Full List Of Detections (VirusTotal) |
| Serving IP Address (agenziaaurora[.]com) | 31.11.33.147 |
| 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 Malwarebytes. |
"Banca Popolare di Bari email scam", "BAPATOH OFFSHORE SDN BHD", "Proof Of Payment", "cPanel email scam", and "Password is about to expire today" are some examples of phishing spam campaigns. The emails sent through these large-scale operations - are usually presented as "important", "urgent", "priority" and similar; they may be disguised as mail from legitimate institutions, authorities, organizations, companies, service providers, and other entities. The only goal of scam letters is to generate profit for the scammers/ cyber criminals behind them. Spam campaigns are used for phishing and different types of scams, but they are also employed to proliferate malware (e.g., trojans, ransomware, etc.). Due to the prevalence of spam mail, it is advised to exercise caution with incoming emails.
How do spam campaigns infect computers?
Spam campaigns spread malware via infectious files distributed through them. The virulent files can be attached to the emails, and/or the letters can contain download links of malicious content. These files can be in various formats, e.g., Microsoft Office and PDF documents, archives (ZIP, RAR, etc.), executables (.exe, .run, etc.), JavaScript, and so on. When the files are executed, run, or otherwise opened - the infection chain (i.e., malware download/installation) is triggered. For example, Microsoft Office documents infect systems by executing malicious macro commands. This process begins the moment a document is opened - in Microsoft Office versions released prior to 2010. Newer versions have "Protected View" mode that prevents automatic execution of macros. Instead, users are asked to enable editing/content (i.e., macro commands) and warned of the potential risks.
How to avoid installation of malware?
To avoid infecting the system via spam mail, it is advised against opening suspicious and irrelevant emails - especially any attachments or links present in them. It is recommended to use Microsoft Office versions released after 2010. Aside from via spam campaigns, malware is also proliferated through untrustworthy download channels (e.g., unofficial and free file-hosting websites, Peer-to-Peer sharing networks, and other third-party downloaders), illegal software activation ("cracking") tools, and fake updates. Therefore, it is important to only download from official and verified sources. Additionally, all programs must be activated and updated with tools/functions provided by legitimate developers. To ensure device integrity and user privacy, it is paramount to have a dependable anti-virus/anti-spyware installed and kept up-to-date. Furthermore, this software has to be used to run regular system scans and remove detected/potential threats. If you've already opened malicious attachments, we recommend running a scan with Malwarebytes for Windows to automatically eliminate infiltrated malware.
Text presented in the "Banca Sella" scam email letter:
Subject: Un nuovo importante messaggio.
Banca Sella
Caro cliente,
e presente un nuovo messaggio importante nella tua area riservata. Accedi tramite il seguenre
link per visualizzarlo:
Fai clic qui: hxxps://www.sella.it/Authenticazione/step_one.jsp
Cordiali saluti
_____________________________________
Customer Care Banca Sella S.p.A
Screenshot of the phishing website promoted through the "Banca Sella" spam campaign:
Instant automatic malware removal:
Manual threat removal might be a lengthy and complicated process that requires advanced computer skills. Malwarebytes 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:
- What is "Banca Sella email scam"?
- STEP 1. Manual removal of possible malware infections.
- STEP 2. Check if your computer is clean.
How to remove malware manually?
Manual malware removal is a complicated task - usually it is best to allow antivirus or anti-malware programs to do this automatically. To remove this malware we recommend using Malwarebytes for Windows. If you wish to remove malware manually, the first step is to identify the name of the malware that you are trying to remove. Here is an example of a suspicious program running on a user's computer:
If you checked the list of programs running on your computer, for example, using task manager, and identified a program that looks suspicious, you should continue with these steps:
Download a program called Autoruns. This program shows auto-start applications, Registry, and file system locations:
Restart your computer into Safe Mode:
Windows XP and Windows 7 users: Start your computer in Safe Mode. Click Start, click Shut Down, click Restart, click OK. During your computer start process, press the F8 key on your keyboard multiple times until you see the Windows Advanced Option menu, and then select Safe Mode with Networking from the list.
Video showing how to start Windows 7 in "Safe Mode with Networking":
Windows 8 users: Start Windows 8 is Safe Mode with Networking - Go to Windows 8 Start Screen, type Advanced, in the search results select Settings. Click Advanced startup options, in the opened "General PC Settings" window, select Advanced startup. Click the "Restart now" button. Your computer will now restart into the "Advanced Startup options menu". Click the "Troubleshoot" button, and then click the "Advanced options" button. In the advanced option screen, click "Startup settings". Click the "Restart" button. Your PC will restart into the Startup Settings screen. Press F5 to boot in Safe Mode with Networking.
Video showing how to start Windows 8 in "Safe Mode with Networking":
Windows 10 users: Click the Windows logo and select the Power icon. In the opened menu click "Restart" while holding "Shift" button on your keyboard. In the "choose an option" window click on the "Troubleshoot", next select "Advanced options". In the advanced options menu select "Startup Settings" and click on the "Restart" button. In the following window you should click the "F5" button on your keyboard. This will restart your operating system in safe mode with networking.
Video showing how to start Windows 10 in "Safe Mode with Networking":
Extract the downloaded archive and run the Autoruns.exe file.
In the Autoruns application, click "Options" at the top and uncheck "Hide Empty Locations" and "Hide Windows Entries" options. After this procedure, click the "Refresh" icon.
Check the list provided by the Autoruns application and locate the malware file that you want to eliminate.
You should write down its full path and name. Note that some malware hides process names under legitimate Windows process names. At this stage, it is very important to avoid removing system files. After you locate the suspicious program you wish to remove, right click your mouse over its name and choose "Delete".
After removing the malware through the Autoruns application (this ensures that the malware will not run automatically on the next system startup), you should search for the malware name on your computer. Be sure to enable hidden files and folders before proceeding. If you find the filename of the malware, be sure to remove it.
Reboot your computer in normal mode. Following these steps should remove any malware from your computer. Note that manual threat removal requires advanced computer skills. If you do not have these skills, leave malware removal to antivirus and anti-malware programs. These steps might not work with advanced malware infections. As always it is best to prevent infection than try to remove malware later. To keep your computer safe, install the latest operating system updates and use antivirus software.
To be sure your computer is free of malware infections, we recommend scanning it with Malwarebytes for Windows.
Outstanding!
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