How to recognize scams like "Your transfer expires in two days!" email scam
Written by Tomas Meskauskas on (updated)
What kind of email scam is "Your transfer expires in two days!"?
Our team has become aware of this email after receiving it to our inbox. After analyzing it, we learned that it is a phishing email purporting to be from WeTransfer. Scammers behind it attempt to trick recipients into clicking the provided link and entering their login credentials on a fake WeTransfer website.
"Your transfer expires in two days!" email scam in detail
The email encourages recipients to click the "Click to Get Files" hyperlink to download "Order Requirements and Technical Specification" and "Company Profile" files. It claims that those files will no longer be available for download in two days. The provided hyperlink opens a fake website requesting for an email address and password.
Scammers use this email to steal login credentials for WeTransfer accounts. However, they may try to access other accounts with the same login credentials too. It is important to mention that earlier we have discovered a similar campaign ("WeTransfer Email Virus") that was used to distribute malware (to trick recipients into opening a malicious file).
| Name | Your Transfer Expires In Two Days! Email Scam |
| Threat Type | Phishing, Scam, Social Engineering, Fraud |
| Fake Claim | A download link for files stored on WeTransfer will expire in two days |
| Disguise | Letter from WeTransfer |
| 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 Combo Cleaner. |
Phishing emails in general
Phishing emails are used to extract credit card details, social security numbers, usernames, passwords, and other sensitive information. Typically, scammers pretend to be legitimate companies and encourage recipients to open the provided website link.
Examples of similar emails are "Your System Has Been Hacked With A Trojan Virus Email Scam", "Ukrainian Government Is Embracing Digital Assets Email Scam", "Validate Now Email Scam". As we mentioned in one of the previous paragraphs, emails can be used to deliver malware.
How do spam campaigns infect computers?
When an email is used to deliver malware, it contains a website link or attachment. In both cases, a computer gets infected after a malicious file is executed. Typically, emails containing malicious files/links are disguised as important/official/urgent letters from legitimate companies or other entities.
Examples of files that threat actors use to trick recipients into infecting their computers are malicious MS Office, PDF documents, JavaScript files, executables, archives. Some types of files do not infect computers right after they are opened - they cannot do so without performing additional steps like enabling macros commands (in MS Office documents).
How to avoid installation of malware?
Do not click links or open attachments received from unknown email addresses (especially when received emails are irrelevant). Always examine emails before opening their contents. Keep the operating system and programs installed on it up to date. Use tools provided by the official developers to update and activate them.
Do not trust downloads from shady websites, P2P networks, third-party downloaders, etc. Use official websites and direct links as sources for downloading files and programs. If you've already opened malicious attachments, we recommend running a scan with Combo Cleaner Antivirus for Windows to automatically eliminate infiltrated malware.
Appearance of the "Your transfer expires in two days!" phishing email (GIF):
Text presented in the "Your transfer expires in two days!" email letter:
Subject: You have received a files via WeTransfer
Click 'Download images' to view images
Your transfer expires in two days!List of Items, Order Requirements and Technical Specification, Company Profile files have been sent to you.
Check company presentation and order spec for propose order etc.Kindly go through all the details as seen on the below file carefully and prepare for us a complete quote.
Remember to make corrections where necessary .
Click to Get Files3 items
Translation
Folder items
List of Items, Drawing/Specification .pdf
9.58 KBTo make sure our emails arrive, please add noreply@wetransfer.com to your contacts .
About WeTransfer Help Legal
Don't send me these expiry reminders anymore
Another example of transfer expiration-themed spam email promoting a phishing site:
Text presented within:
Subject: A transfer sent to you is about ro expire
wetransfer
Your file expires in two days!
Email:-
this transfer will expire on 6th April, 2022.
When this happens, these files will be removed from our servers.download file with the link below:
[Download Here]
Screenshot of the promoted phishing site:
Another phishing site promoted using the same email spam campaign:
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:
- What is Your transfer expires in two days! 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?
It is highly unlikely that you were the only one who has received this email. Typically, scammers send the same email to all addresses in their database. As a rule, phishing emails are not personal.
I have provided my personal information when tricked by this email, what should I do?
In case you have opened the provided website and entered your login credentials on it, change all passwords immediately.
I have downloaded and opened a malicious file attached to an email, is my computer infected?
If the file was an executable, then most certainly yes. In other cases, it is not enough for malicious files to be opened to infect computers. For example, malicious MS Office documents (opened with MS Office 2010 and later) do not infect computers until users enable macros commands.
I have read the email but didn't open the attachment, is my computer infected?
No, an email itself cannot infect a computer.
Will Combo Cleaner remove malware infections that were present in email attachment?
Yes, Combo Cleaner can detect and eliminate almost all known malware infections. If a computer is infected with high-end malware, it should be scanned fully (using a full system scan option). Running a quick scan is not enough to detect and eliminate malware hidden deep in the operating system.
Outstanding!
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