How to spot fraudulent emails like "Maja Hoffmann Donation"

What "Maja Hoffmann Donation" email scam?

Our analysis of the email has shown that it is a scam. In this email, the scammer pretends to be a Swiss collector to trick recipients into disclosing personal information and possibly transferring money. Such scam emails should be ignored to avoid issues like identity theft and monetary loss.

More about the "Maja Hoffmann Donation" scam email

This scam email claims to be from Maja Hoffmann, a Swiss philanthropist, collector, documentary producer, and businesswoman. It states that Google Inc. has randomly selected the recipient to receive a donation of 800,000 euros. The email also mentions that the funds are supposed to go to those affected by the Ukraine invasion and the COVID-19 pandemic.

Recipients are encouraged to contact the sender via the provided email address (majahoffmann37@gmail.com) for more details. When scammers behind such emails are contacted or responded to, they usually try to gain personal information (e.g., credit card details or ID card information) or money from the recipient.

In order to extract money from the recipient, scammers might pressure the victim into making an advance payment for taxes or fees before receiving the promised amount. However, victims of such scams never receive the promised money. Usually, they lose money or become victims of identity theft, or experience other issues.

Therefore, it is important to inspect emails offering large sums of money to avoid scams.

Similar scam emails in general

Emails of this type are typically scams designed to deceive the recipient into believing they have won a large sum of money or are receiving a donation. Once the victim responds, the scammers ask for personal information and (or) an upfront payment. In any case, none of the claims in such scam emails are true.

Here are examples of similar scams: "Elon Musk Foundation's Compensation Program", "Grant/Compensation Payment Program", and "Transaction Intermediary". Scam emails can also be used to deliver malware.

How do spam campaigns infect computers?

Threat actors often utilize email as a delivery method for malware, either by attaching infected files or malicious links. These attachments can take various forms, including executable files, Office documents, PDFs, ZIP or RAR archives, script files, and ISO images. The malware is activated when the recipient opens the attachment or takes further steps, like enabling macros in a compromised document.

In other cases, emails may contain links that lead users to malicious websites. Once visited, these sites could automatically download malware onto the user's device or trick the user into manually initiating the download.

How to avoid installation of malware?

Be cautious with unexpected or suspicious emails and messages, particularly those from unknown senders. Refrain from clicking on links or opening attachments in these communications. Avoid interacting with pop-ups, ads, or questionable links on unreliable sites. Always download apps or files from reliable sources such as official websites or trusted app stores.

Keep your operating system and applications up to date, and use reputable antivirus software to protect your device from potential risks. 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 "Maja Hoffmann Donation" email letter:

My name is Maja Hoffmann, a Swiss collector, patron of the arts, documentary film producer, businesswoman and philanthropist. I am founder and president of the LUMA Foundation. Your email address has been provided by Google Inc. randomly selected as an active user on the web. This year I decided to donate 5 percent of my assets to both charities and individuals physically in connection with the invasion of Ukraine and the virus pandemic corona, which paralyzed the world economy. I give you 800,000 euros and I encourage you to help someone around you too. For more information about me, here is my Wikipedia below:hxxps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maja_Hoffmann Contact me on this email address: majahoffmann37@gmail.com for more information

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Quick menu:

• What is Maja Hoffmann Donation scam?
• 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?

Scam emails are often sent to a wide range of recipients. They are generally generic and not aimed at their recipients specifically. Your email address could have been obtained from a data breach, a compromised or fake website, or other sources.

I have provided my personal information when tricked by this email, what should I do?

If you sent your ID card details, credit card information, or similar details, contact your bank and the relevant authorities as soon as possible to prevent misuse.

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

Malicious attachments can cause damage only when users interact with them. For example, malware embedded in Office documents typically requires users to enable macros to activate the infection, while executable files can start causing damage immediately upon being opened.

I have sent cryptocurrency to the address presented in such email, can I get my money back?

Unfortunately, cryptocurrency transactions are irreversible, so it is unlikely you will be able to recover your funds.

I have read the email but did not open the attachment, is my computer infected?

Viewing an email is generally safe, but clicking on suspicious links or opening infected attachments can lead to computer infections.

Will Combo Cleaner remove malware infections that were present in email attachment?

Combo Cleaner can detect and remove most known malware threats. However, some advanced infections may conceal themselves deep within the system, so running a full system scan is essential for detection and removal.