How to identify scams like the fake notification from Intelcom

What is "Intelcom email scam"?

We have analyzed the email and found that it is a fraudulent email disguised as a notification from Intelcom (a legitimate Canadian courier and package delivery company). The scammers behind it seek to extract personal information through a deceptive website included in the email. These types of emails are known as phishing attempts.

More about the fake email posing as a message from "Intelcom"

The scam email alleges that a delivery is pending due to incomplete information. It states that a parcel intended for the recipient has been seized by Canadian customs due to undeclared contents. The message explains that the recipient must pay 2.96 CAD in duties and taxes to release the package.

It also includes a button labeled "Plan my delivery", which leads to a phishing website designed to steal personal information. Although this site was down during our examination, the included link was likely supposed to open a fake login form designed to steal usernames (or email addresses) and passwords from unsuspecting recipients.

Scammers can use stolen login credentials to access your online accounts, such as email, banking, or shopping sites. Once inside, they might steal personal information, make unauthorized purchases, or transfer money. They can also use your accounts to trick your contacts by sending fake messages or scams. In some cases, they may sell your credentials to other criminals on the dark web.

This can lead to identity theft, financial loss, and other issues. Thus, recipients should ignore such emails to avoid any of that.

Similar scam emails in general

Emails like these are designed to trick recipients into providing personal information, either directly through email or deceptive pages. They are often crafted to appear legitimate and urgent, important to lure users. It is important to be cautious and verify the legitimacy of such messages before taking any action.

Some examples of similar emails are "DHL - Shipping Container Document Invoice", "WordPress Contact Email Verification", and "Changes To Terms Of Service And Privacy Policy". Fraudulent emails can also be used to deliver malicious software.

How do spam campaigns infect computers?

Theat actors frequently send emails with malicious attachments such as executable files, Office documents, PDFs, compressed archives (ZIP/RAR), scripts, or disk images (ISO) to distribute malware. The malware is not activated unless the recipient opens the file—and sometimes must take further actions depending on the file type.

Alternatively, these emails may include links that lead to deceptive websites. These sites might either begin downloading malware automatically or trick users into downloading it themselves.

How to avoid installation of malware?

Be cautious with emails from unknown senders—never open attachments or click on links unless you are sure they are safe. Take time to verify the sender and content before interacting with any unexpected message. Download software from reliable sources, such as official websites or reputable app stores.

Avoid clicking on pop-ups, ads, or links found on sketchy websites. Keep your operating system and all applications up to date, and use a trusted antivirus program to scan your device regularly for threats. 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 fake "Intelcom" email letter:

Subject:You have an awaiting delivery due to missing informations from you.

Intelcom

Dear customer,

Goods imported into Canada may be subject to applicable duties and/or taxes. Couriers are authorized by the CBSA (Canada Border Services Agency) to account for casual shipments in lieu of the importer or owner and may remit any applicable duties and/or taxes to the CBSA.

In the meanwhile, a parcel belonging to you has been seized by customs for failure to declare its contents by the sender and we ask you to pay the amount of 2.96 CAD in duties and taxes to by contacting us as soon as possible using the button below:

Plan my delivery

Thanks for choosing Intelcom.

This email was sent from an automated system. Please do not reply.

© 2025 Intelcom Express - Dragonfly Express. All rights reserved.

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Quick menu:

• What is Fake Intelcom 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?

This email was sent to many recipients (such messages are not targeted). Scammers collect email addresses from various sources, including fake websites and data breaches.

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

In case you shared your account information, make sure to reset compromised passwords right away. If other personal data like credit card or ID numbers were given, contact the authorities immediately.

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

If the file you opened was an executable, it is quite possible your computer got infected. If it was a document like a PDF or Word file, your computer may not be compromised, since these files do not always allow malware to run just by opening them.

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

Simply opening an email is generally safe. However, clicking on links or opening attachments within malicious emails can expose your computer to infections.

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

Combo Cleaner is capable of detecting and removing almost all known malware. Because sophisticated malware can hide deep inside the system, performing a full system scan is essential to ensure complete removal.