How to identify scams like "Assistance To Invest"

What kind of scam is "Assistance To Invest"?

Our examination of the email has revealed that it is a scam. It uses an enticing offer to deceive recipients into providing personal information or sending money to fraudsters. Emails of this type should be ignored to avoid the potential negative outcomes.

More about the "Assistance To Invest" scam email

This scam email claims to come from a representative of a political network in Gaza. It states that $20 million has been moved out of Gaza and converted into Bitcoin. The sender asserts that the recipient has been selected to help transfer and invest this money and promises a 30% share as a reward.

The message emphasizes that all fees have been paid and that no upfront costs are required. Such emails fall into the category of advance-fee scams. Scammers behind them usually claim that the recipient will get a large sum of money but has to pay some "administration", "transaction", or other fee to receive the money. However, victims never receive any money.

Also, scammers often ask to provide personal information, such as names, surnames, credit card details, and ID card information, to "complete" the transfer. If victims provide such information, scammers use it to steal identities, make fraudulent purchases, or for other malicious purposes.

Overall, it is important to recognize such emails and never respond to them or take other actions to avoid monetary loss, identity theft, or other issues.

Similar scam emails in general

Scams like this are examples of advance-fee fraud designed to trick victims into believing they will receive a large sum of money. They often promise high rewards to deceive recipients into disclosing personal information or transferring money. It is crucial to recognize these scams and never respond, share personal details, or send money.

Examples of similar scams are "Keep And Invest Funds", "Overdue Payment", and "Covid-19 Response Fund". Deceptive emails can also be used to distribute malware.

How do spam campaigns infect computers?

Cybercriminals often send emails with infected files attached, like executables (e.g., .exe files), Word or Excel documents, PDFs, zipped folders, scripts, or disk images. When a recipient opens these files—or enables certain features like macros in documents—the malware gets executed on their device.

Sometimes, these emails do not have attachments but contain links to fake websites. These sites either automatically download malware or persuade users to download it themselves. In all cases, the infection only happens if the user executes malware through certain actions.

How to avoid installation of malware?

Only download software from trusted sources like official websites or app stores. Be careful with unexpected emails, especially if they come from addresses you do not know. Do not open attachments or click links in suspicious messages. Also, avoid clicking on pop-ups, ads, or links on shady websites.

Make sure your computer and apps are always up to date, and regularly scan your system with reliable antivirus software to stay protected. 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 "Assistance To Invest" email letter:

Subject: Investment Fund

Hello,

Hope you're hale and hearty today?

I have the directive of my Principal (a political network in Gaza,Palestine) to make contact with you, after a successful due diligence on your personal and corporate capacity.

We have huge funds at the moment, up to $20 million USD already moved out of Gaza, and currently handled by a Finance Group in Switzerland. We would like to move this fund to your country for investment and according to the report on our diligence, you're capable of handling the funds.

Let me make it clear, we have already moved the funds out of Gaza and successfully traded the funds into crypto currency (bitcoin), to enhance seamless administration and easy remittance to you without attracting undue attention.

Now we seek, if we have your approval, to move $20 million dollars bitcoin value to you for liquidation into cash funds and for investment in any lucrative/solid venture for the next few years (10 maybe).

We're offering you 30% of the total sum for your assistance and the rest 60% can be invested on our behalf by you, but under our close supervision.

The good part of our deal/offer to you is that all expenses have been paid. We have made all necessary payments, including processing fees/charges to the Swiss finance company handling the bitcoin transfer to you. In this case you have nothing to worry about, you're not paying any upfront fees/charges to anyone. What we need is your consent/approval and a great deal is closed.

Please carefully read and understand my above proposal, while I await your positive response in time.

Best Regards,
John Collins,

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Quick menu:

• What is Assistance To Invest advance-fee 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?

Scammers send the same generic message to every recipient, with no personalization. Your email address was likely collected through a data breach, a fake website, or another method of harvesting contact information.

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

If scammers obtained your credit card details or other personal information, contact your bank and (or) the relevant authorities.

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

If the file you opened was an executable (like a .exe), it likely infected your system. However, if it was a document such as a PDF or Word file, you might not be affected—these files do not always cause harm unless you enable certain features like macros.

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

Unfortunately, no. Cryptocurrency transactions are irreversible, and once sent, the funds cannot be recovered.

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

Opening an email is generally safe. The risk comes from clicking links or opening attachments inside a deceptive message, which can lead to malware infection.

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

Yes, Combo Cleaner can detect and remove most known malware. However, since advanced threats can hide deep in the system, it is important to run a full system scan to ensure complete protection.