Do not trust fake "Interested In Buying Your Property" emails

What kind of email is "Interested In Buying Your Property"?

Our inspection of the "Interested In Buying Your Property" email revealed that it is spam. This phishing letter aims to trick recipients into disclosing their email account log-in credentials by claiming that the sender is interested in purchasing their property.

"Interested In Buying Your Property" email scam overview

The email with the subject "BEST PRICE" (may vary) states that the sender is allegedly interested in buying the recipient's property. The recipient is requested to provide the last sale price after they review the attached document.

As mentioned in the introduction, all the claims made by this spam letter are fake. Hence, the email's attachment ("BEST PRICE.HTML") is a phishing file that asks the user to sign in with their mail account to view the "invoice". Information entered into such files is recorded and sent to cyber criminals.

In addition to stealing the exposed email account, scammers can gain access to the content registered through it. To elaborate, stolen finance-related accounts (e.g., online banking, e-commerce, cryptocurrency wallets, etc.) can be used to make unauthorized transactions and online purchases.

Additionally, criminals can steal the identities of social account owners (e.g., emails, social networking/media, messengers, etc.) and ask the contacts/followers for loans or donations, promote scams, and proliferate malware by sharing malicious files/links.

To summarize, victims of scam mail like "Interested In Buying Your Property" can experience system infections, severe privacy issues, financial losses, and even identity theft.

If you have already provided your log-in credentials – immediately change the passwords of all potentially exposed accounts and inform their official support.

Threat Summary:

Name	"Interested In Buying Your Property" phishing email
Threat Type	Phishing, Scam, Social Engineering, Fraud
Fake Claim	Sender is interested in purchasing the recipient's property.
Attachment(s)	BEST PRICE.HTML (filename may vary)
Detection Names	Avast (HTML:PhishingAdb-HG [Phish]), Combo Cleaner (Generic.JS.FakeLogin.A.784BF667), ESET-NOD32 (HTML/Phishing.Gen), Fortinet (HTML/Phish.84A6!tr), McAfee (HTML/Phishing.rb), Full List Of Detections (VirusTotal)
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. ▼ Download Combo Cleaner To use full-featured product, you have to purchase a license for Combo Cleaner. 7 days free trial available. Combo Cleaner is owned and operated by Rcs Lt, the parent company of PCRisk.com read more.

Phishing spam campaign examples

"Office Printer", "Mailbox Restriction Notice", and "Alert! - Suspension Notice" are merely a few examples of phishing emails that we have examined recently.

Spam letters are used to facilitate a wide variety of scams, ranging from phishing to sextortion. However, they are also used to proliferate trojans, ransomware, and other malware. Deceptive emails can be basic or elaborately disguised as messages from legitimate companies, service providers, authorities, or other entities.

How do spam campaigns infect computers?

Spam campaigns distribute malware through malicious files, which can be attached to or linked inside the emails/messages. These files come in various formats, e.g., archives (ZIP, RAR, etc.), executables (.exe, .run, etc.), documents (PDF, Microsoft Office, Microsoft OneNote, etc.), JavaScript, and so on.

When an infectious file is executed, run, or otherwise opened – the malware download/installation process is triggered. For example, Microsoft Office files infect systems by executing malicious macro commands, while virulent OneNote documents require users to click on embedded files/links.

How to avoid installation of malware?

It is paramount to approach incoming emails and other messages with caution. We advise against opening attachments or links found in dubious/irrelevant mail, as they can be malicious and cause infections. It is important to use post-2010 Microsoft Office versions since they have the "Protected View" mode that prevents automatic macro command execution.

Since malware is not proliferated exclusively via spam mail, we also recommend being careful while browsing – since fake and dangerous online content usually appears harmless.

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

We must stress the importance of having 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 "Interested In Buying Your Property" email letter:

Subject: BEST PRICE

HELLO SIR

I AM INTERESTED IN BUYING YOUR PROPERTY FOR SALE,
LET ME KNOW YOUR LAST PRICE FOR SALE AS SOON AS
YOU READ THESE THANK YOU.

BILL PERRY
infor.billgates@gmail.com

Screenshot of the phishing attached to the "Interested In Buying Your Property" spam campaign ("BEST PRICE.HTML"):

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Quick menu:

• What is "Interested In Buying Your Property" 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. This mail is distributed in massive campaigns – hence, thousands of users receive identical messages.

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. And if the disclosed information was of a different personal nature (e.g., ID card details, credit card numbers, etc.) – immediately contact relevant authorities.

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

Devices are infected when malicious attachments/links are opened, merely opening/reading an email is not enough to trigger system infection processes.

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 – your device was compromised. However, you might have avoided triggering an infection if it was a document (.doc, .xls, .pdf, .one, etc.). These formats can require additional user interaction (e.g., enabling macro commands, clicking embedded content, etc.) to begin downloading/installing malware.

Will Combo Cleaner remove malware infections present in email attachments?

Yes, Combo Cleaner is capable of detecting and eliminating practically all known malware infections. It must be emphasized that performing a complete system scan is essential – since high-end malicious programs typically hide deep within systems.

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