How to recognize fake "Compensation Entitlement" emails

What kind of email is "Compensation Entitlement"?

After reading this "Compensation Entitlement" email, we determined that it is spam. This message namedrops multiple real public figures and entities. It claims that the recipient is entitled to five million US dollars in compensation.

It must be emphasized that the information in this email is false. The likely goal is to trick recipients into disclosing private information and/or sending scammers money.

"Compensation Entitlement" email scam overview

The spam email with the subject "Re: Approval Order For Payment." (may vary) states that the recipient is entitled to compensation as approved and agreed by the United Nations (UN), the World Bank, the UK prime minister, and the president of the US. The UN, in collaboration with Deutsche Bank, will transfer the five million USD compensation to the recipient's designated bank account. The message's postscriptum clarifies that the compensation is for online scams that the recipient had fallen victim to.

It must be stressed that all the claims made by this email are false, and this mail is not associated with any actual public figures or entities – including the United Nations (UN), the UN secretary‑general, the World Bank Group (WBG), the Deutsche Bank AG, the UK prime minister, or the US president.

Typically, spam campaigns of this kind have two goals – obtaining sensitive information or funds directly. Targeted data can include log-in credentials (e.g., emails, social networking, social media, online banking, money transferring, digital wallets, etc.), personally identifiable data (e.g., ID card details, passport scans/photos, etc.), and finance-related information (e.g., banking account details, credit/debit card numbers, etc.).

Scammers may lure victims into disclosing this information directly or entering it into phishing websites/files (e.g., disguised as forms/documentation, sign-in pages, etc.). Alternatively or additionally, cyber criminals can ask for funds and give legitimate-sounding reasons like paying taxes or fees.

In summary, by trusting an email like "Compensation Entitlement" – users can experience severe privacy issues, financial losses, and identity theft.

If you have disclosed your personally identifiable or finance-related data – immediately contact the appropriate authorities. And if you have provided your log-in credentials – change the passwords of all potentially exposed accounts and inform their official support without delay.

Spam campaigns in general

Spam campaigns promote various scams, including phishing, advance fee, technical support, sextortion, refund, etc. This mail is also used to distribute all kinds of malware (e.g., trojans, ransomware, cryptocurrency miners, etc.).

"Email Is Blocked Because The Sender Is Unauthenticated", "UPS Delivery Notice", "Request By Admin Department", "Renew Your Webmail Access", "DHL - YOUR PARCEL HAS BEEN DELIVERED", "Annual Financial Review Status", and "Monthly e-Statement" are just some of our latest articles on these campaigns.

While the widely held belief that spam emails are poorly constructed and full of mistakes is not untrue, it is not always the case. This mail can be competently written and even believably disguised as content associated with genuine entities (e.g., organizations, institutions, companies, authorities, etc.). Due to this, we strongly recommend caution with incoming emails, PMs/DMs, SMSes, and other messages.

How do spam campaigns infect computers?

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

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

How to avoid installation of malware?

We highly recommend approaching incoming emails and other messages with care. Attachments or links found in suspicious communications must not be opened, as they can be harmful or malicious.

However, malware is not spread exclusively via spam campaigns. Therefore, we advise vigilance when browsing since fraudulent and dangerous online content usually appears legitimate and innocuous.

Another recommendation is to download only from official and trustworthy sources. Additionally, software must be activated and updated using functions/tools provided by genuine developers, as illegal activation ("cracking") tools and third-party updates can contain malware.

It is paramount for device integrity and user safety to have a dependable antivirus installed and kept updated. Security programs must be used to run regular system scans and to remove detected threats. 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 "Compensation Entitlement" spam email letter:

Subject: Re: Approval Order For Payment.

Dear sir/madam,

This is to officially inform you that the British Prime Minister in conjunction with US Government under the leadership of President Donald John Trump, World Bank and the United Nations Organization do hereby gives these Irrevocable compensation approval order with release code: UBU/348/E02/25 in your favor for your Compensation Entitlement payment with the United Nations to your designated bank account. Your compensation entitlement approval No: UN85/11P, White House Of America approved No: WHC01414CV, compensation reference No: 35460021, World Bank reference No: WB674632P, compensation password No: 3331, pin code No: 55674 and your compensation certificate of merit payment No: P103, released code No: CR0763; paying bank telex confirmation No: CD1114433, secret code No: XXTN0FG11EX, having received these vital compensation payment approval numbers, therefore you are qualified to receive and confirm your compensation payment with the United Nations without any delay.

Right now, as directed by the UN secretary general, His Excellency. António Guterres, we are working in collaborations with the World Bank and we have authorized the Deutsche Bank AG, Frankfurt, Germany to effect the payment of $5,000,000.00 USD (Five Million United States Dollars Only) to you immediately as approved by the United Nations as your name and information has appeared as next in line to receive the compensation funds.

You are officially advised to contact the United Nations affiliated payment bank (Deutsche Bank AG, Frankfurt) in Frankfurt, Germany with your compensation release code: UBU/348/E02/25 for immediate release/transfer of your compensation funds to your designated bank account without delay. Your release code is your only evidence/proof for the release of your compensation, so make sure you always use your release code as your email subject when contacting the bank.

Bank name: Deutsche Bank AG, Frankfurt
Compensation Remittance Department
Contact Person: Mr. Gordon Hooper
Email Address: compensation_unit@msn.com
Tel: +49 69 870077 85-9

Best Regards,
Mr. Richard Kloop
For United Nations Compensation/Donation Unit

P.S. You must stop further communications with online scammers if you must receive your compensation funds and to avoid losing more of your hard earned money to them.

Appearance of the "Compensation Entitlement" spam email (GIF):

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Quick menu:

• What is "Compensation Entitlement" spam 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, regardless of any relevant details that they may include. These messages are sent out in large-scale operations – therefore, thousands of users receive identical or incredibly similar emails.

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. However, if you have disclosed other private information (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?

Reading an email does not pose an infection threat; devices are infected when malicious attachments or links are opened/clicked.

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

Whether the device was infected might depend on the format of the opened file. Once run, executables (.exe, .run, etc.) cause infections almost without fail. However, some formats – like documents (.doc, .pdf, .xls, etc.) – might need additional interaction. These formats may require users to enable macro commands, click embedded content, or perform other actions to jumpstart malware download/installation.

Will Combo Cleaner remove malware infections present in email attachments?

Combo Cleaner is capable of detecting and removing practically all known malware infections. Remember that performing a full system scan is crucial since high-end malicious software usually hides deep within systems.