How to identify scams like the fake "DocuSign - Document Review Notification"

What kind of scam is "DocuSign - Document Review Notification"?

Our analysis shows that this is a phishing email posing as a notification regarding a purchase agreement contract. This deceptive email includes a link to a fake website designed to steal personal information. Falling for this scam can lead to issues like account hijacking, identity theft, and other issues.

More about the "DocuSign - Document Review Notification" scam email

This phishing email claims that there is a pending purchase agreement contract requiring review and signature. It provides details such as the document name, date, and status to appear legitimate. Recipients are urged to click a button/link to review and sign the document. This link leads to a phishing page.

The opened site is disguised as a Gmail login page and is crafted to steal email account login credentials. Once scammers obtain these login credentials, they can access the victim's email account. This access allows them to read emails, steal personal information, send deceptive emails, and more.

Additionally, they may use the compromised credentials to access other online accounts, including social media or banking accounts. In such cases, victims may experience issues like identity theft and monetary loss. It is also important to mention that scammers may sell stolen details on the dark web.

Similar scam emails in general

Scam emails like this often impersonate trusted services to trick recipients into entering their login details on fake websites. They often pressure users to act quickly. Falling for these scams can lead to stolen accounts, personal information, and financial loss. Sometimes, deceptive emails can be used to deliver malware.

It is important to identify such emails and ignore them if ever received. Some examples of similar scam emails are "Leave Request Form", "Human Resource Internal Memo", and "OneDrive - You Have A New Document".

How do spam campaigns infect computers?

Cybercriminals spread malware through emails by including malicious Word or PDF documents, executable files, archives like ZIP or RAR, script files, or other types of files. The malware activates when recipients run malicious executables, enable macros in infected documents, or perform other actions.

These emails may also have links to fake or hacked websites, which can either automatically deploy malware or persuade users to download and execute it themselves.

How to avoid installation of malware?

Download software from official websites or app stores, and avoid using pirated (cracked) software or tools designed to bypass software activation. Be careful with emails from unfamiliar senders, especially if they seem irrelevant or unexpected, and never click on links or open attachments in those messages.

Avoid engaging with pop-ups, ads, or suspicious links on unreliable websites, and do not give them permission to send notifications. Keep your operating system and apps up to date, and regularly scan your device with reputable antivirus software. 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 "DocuSign - Document Review Notification" email letter:

Subject: Purchase Agreement Contract sent on Friday June 27, 2025 1_26_32 a.m.

DocuSign
Document Review Notification

Dear -,

You have a pending document awaiting your review. Please verify the details below and proceed to sign.
Document Date Status
Purchase Agreement Contract.pdf Friday June 27, 2025 1:26:32 a.m. Pending Review

Please review the document at your earliest convenience. Click the button below to proceed with signing.
Review & Sign
© 2025 DocuSign. All rights reserved.

Phishing page used in this scam:

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Quick menu:

• What is DocuSign - Document Review Notification 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?

Getting a scam email often indicates that your address was obtained through a data breach, a compromised website, or another similar source. Such emails are part of spam campaigns targeting many recipients simultaneously (these emails are not personal).

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

If login details were entered on a fake website, it is important to change the passwords for any accounts that might be at risk. If access to an account is lost, contacting the platform's official support team is advisable.

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

Opening a malicious executable file can immediately install malware on your device. Documents like PDFs or Office files are typically safer, but enabling features like macros can trigger threats. Ultimately, the risk of infection depends on the type of file and the actions taken by the user.

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

Opening an email is safe. The risk comes from clicking on links or opening attachments in deceptive or suspicious emails.

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

Combo Cleaner is effective at detecting and removing a wide range of known malware. Since some threats can be deeply hidden in the system, performing a full system scan is crucial to ensure all infections are found and removed.