How to recognize fake "Signed Cloud Document" emails

What kind of email is "Signed Cloud Document"?

Our examination of the "Signed Cloud Document" email revealed that it is spam. This message is presented as a notification alerting the user of a received "secured document". Supposedly, accessing this file requires signing in with the recipient's email log-in credentials. Thus, the phishing email extracts victims' account passwords.

"Signed Cloud Document" email scam overview

The spam email with the subject "EXTERN: You've received a Secured Document" (may vary) informs the recipient that they have been sent a file. To access the "secured document", they have to enter the "Document Portal" and sign in with their email address and the corresponding password.

It must be emphasized that the claims made by this message are false, and this email is not associated with any legitimate service providers or other entities.

When a user tries to access the nonexistent "2025_Payment/transfer_Plan.pdf" file, they are redirected to a phishing website. At the time of research, the promoted webpage was down. However, this could be rectified in potential future releases of this spam campaign (i.e., emails will redirect to a functional site). Phishing websites record provided information and send it to scammers.

This campaign targets email accounts, which often contain incredibly sensitive information and may even be an avenue for stealing the accounts, platforms, and services registered through the email.

To expand upon the latter, scammers can steal account owners' identities (e.g., emails, social networking, social media, messengers, chats, etc.) and request loans or donations from contacts/friends/followers, promote scams, and spread malware by sharing malicious links or files.

Additionally, hijacked finance-related accounts (e.g., e-commerce, money transferring, digital wallets, online banking, etc.) can be used to make fraudulent transactions and online purchases.

In summary, by trusting an email like "Signed Cloud Document" – users can experience severe privacy issues, financial losses, and even identity theft.

If you have already entered your log-in credentials into a phishing site – immediately change the passwords of all potentially exposed accounts and contact their official support.

Phishing spam campaign examples

We have investigated numerous spam campaigns; "Tax Invoice And Contract Document Via WeTransfer", "United Nation/World Bank - Unpaid Beneficiary", and "Bank Of America - Account Verification" are mainly a couple of our latest articles on phishing emails.

Commonly targeted information includes log-in credentials of various accounts, personally identifiable details, and finance-related data. However, other scams are promoted through spam mail as well (e.g., technical support, refund, sextortion, advance fee, etc.). These messages are also utilized in malware distribution.

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

How do spam campaigns infect computers?

Spam campaigns spread malware by distributing infectious files as attachments or download links. These files can be documents (Microsoft Office, Microsoft OneNote, PDF, etc.), archives (ZIP, RAR, etc.), executables (.exe, .run, etc.), JavaScript, and so on.

The infection chain is initiated once such a file is opened. However, some formats require additional interaction to trigger malware infiltration processes. For example, Microsoft Office files need users to enable macro commands (i.e., editing/content), while OneNote documents require them to click on embedded links or files.

How to avoid installation of malware?

Incoming emails and other messages must be approached with caution. We advise against opening attachments or links present in suspicious mail, as they can be harmful or virulent.

It must be mentioned that malware is proliferated using various methods. Therefore, we also recommend being vigilant when browsing since the Internet is full of deceptive and dangerous content.

Another recommendation is to download only from official and verified channels. All programs must be activated and updated using functions/tools provided by legitimate developers, as illegal product activation ("cracking") tools and third-party updates may contain malware.

It is paramount for device integrity and user safety to have a reputable antivirus installed and kept updated. Security software must be used to run regular system scans and to remove detected 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 "Signed Cloud Document" spam email letter:

Subject: EXTERN: You've received a Secured Document

Signed Cloud Document

You've received a Secured Document

To view your secure message, Follow the Document Portal below and follow the instructions,
Sign in using your email address to access your secured Document.

Document Title : "2025_Payment/transfer_Plan.pdf"

Preview Secured Document Here

Do Not Share This Email
To ensure the security of your data, do not share the links or forward this email to others.

Processed by Norton Anti-virus, Signed
View Document On Adobe Online PDF

Instant automatic malware removal:

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Quick menu:

• What is "Signed Cloud Document" 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. Cyber criminals send out these messages by the thousand with the hopes that at least some recipients will fall for their scams.

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 compromised accounts and inform their official support without delay. However, if the disclosed information was of a different personal nature (e.g., ID card details, credit card numbers, etc.) – immediately contact the corresponding authorities.

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

No, reading an email does not pose an infection threat. Systems are compromised when malicious attachments or links are opened/clicked.

I have downloaded and opened a file attached to a spam email, is my computer infected?

If the opened file was an executable – most likely, yes – the device was infected. However, you might have avoided the infection if it was a document. These formats may need additional actions (e.g., enabling macros, clicking embedded content, etc.) to jumpstart malware download/installation.

Will Combo Cleaner remove malware infections present in email attachments?

Yes, Combo Cleaner is capable of detecting and eliminating most of the known malware infections. It must be stressed that running a full system scan is crucial since high-end malicious programs tend to hide deep within systems.