How to avoid getting scammed by "Compensation To Cyber Crime Victims" emails

What kind of email is "Compensation To Cyber Crime Victims"?

After reading this "Compensation To Cyber Crime Victims" email, we determined that it is spam. This message claims that the recipient is eligible for £1,000,000 in compensation from the United Kingdom government. The recipient's supposed niece will claim these funds, unless they confirm that this representative is a scammer. Typically, spam campaigns of this kind target private data or funds directly.

"Compensation To Cyber Crime Victims" email scam overview

The spam email with the subject "Is She Your Representative?.!" (may vary) claims to be a missive from a lawyer working with the UK Financial Intelligence Unit (UKFIU). Supposedly, the recipient has been awarded £1,000,000 in compensation. They are part of the 100 victims who are being compensated for suffering financial losses due to online scams.

Several previous communications have failed to reach the recipient. This message concerns a person claiming to be the recipient's niece and representative. If there is no response within 72 hours, this representative will be able to claim the compensation on the recipient's behalf.

Confirmation is required regarding the "representative". The sender will prepare the necessary documents and direct the recipient to the appropriate bank if they wish to claim the funds themselves.

It must be emphasized that all the information in this email is false, and this mail is not associated with the actual UKFIU or any other legitimate authorities or entities.

The exact operation of this scam is unknown. Usually, spam emails of this kind aim to deceive victims into disclosing sensitive information and/or sending money to scammers.

Targeted data can include personally identifiable details (e.g., ID card details, passport photos/scans, etc.) and finance-related information (e.g., online banking account log-in credentials, credit/debit card numbers, etc.). Scammers can ask for funds directly and provide legitimate-sounding reasons, such as paying transaction fees or taxes.

In summary, victims of scam emails like "Compensation To Cyber Crime Victims" can experience severe privacy issues, financial losses, and identity theft.

If you have disclosed your personally identifiable or financial information – contact the appropriate authorities without delay.

Spam campaigns in general

Spam campaigns are used to promote all kinds of scams and proliferate various types of malware. Widespread scams include phishing, technical support, refund, sextortion, and advance fee. Prevalent malware classes are trojan types and ransomware.

While the widely held belief that spam emails are poorly written and riddled with mistakes is not untrue, this is not always the case. This mail can be competently put together and even believably disguised as messages from genuine entities (e.g., authorities, service providers, companies, organizations, etc.).

"Document Review Request", "UPS - Action Required for Your Shipment", "SafariBookings email scam", "Document Ready For Review", "HR Department Authorization Request", "Chevron - Vendor Invitation", "Annual Financial Review Status", and "Monthly e-Statement" are merely some of our newest articles on spam campaigns.

How do spam campaigns infect computers?

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

Merely opening an infectious file can be enough to trigger the malware download/installation process. However, some formats need additional interaction to initiate the infection chain. 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 exercising caution with incoming emails, DMs/PMs, SMSes, and other communications. Attachments or links present in suspect/irrelevant mail must not be opened, as they can be malicious.

However, malware is distributed using various methods. Therefore, we advise vigilance when browsing, as fake and dangerous online content usually appears legitimate and innocuous.

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

It is essential to have a reputable antivirus installed and kept up-to-date. Security software must be used to perform regular system scans and to remove active and potential 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 To Cyber Crime Victims" spam email letter:

Subject: Is She Your Representative?.!

Attention.

This is Solicitor Jeremy Willcocks United Kingdom Financial Intelligence Unit representative, I am the lawyer working under the United Kingdom Financial Intelligence Unit on Cyber Crime and Internet Fraud, I am to guide you for your compensation fund by the United Kingdom Government. So I'm your legal representative at this point.

I'm sure you are not aware of the 1,000.000.00-( One Million Great British Pounds ) that has been Approved by the United Kingdom Government to compensate you and other Ninety Nine Cyber Crime Victims for all that have been lost to Internet Scammers in the (UK), which the crime is been committed by Africans living in UK. I have sent several emails to you in the past few weeks because your name is on the list but no response from you regarding this.

My reason for contacting you again is to confirm from you if Ms. K.J. Pedersen, Who claims to be your Niece and your representative has actually come forth to claim the fund on your behalf claiming that you are indisposed at this period, In this regard, Are you truly the one that sent her to represent you? We wouldn't have any other option than to proceed and transfer your compensation funds to her If we did not receive any response from you within the next 72 hours, To avoid sending the fund to the wrong person. Please, I would like to get an update from you as soon as possible.

If you are still interested in receiving the funds, You should get back to me so that I will proceed with all the necessary documents and direct you to the paying bank.

I await your swift response only If you are truly interested.

Best Regards

Jeremy Willcocks

Solicitor working under United Kingdom Financial Intelligence on
Cyber Crime and Internet Fraud.
Partner at Arnold & Porter Greater London, England, United Kingdom
Partner at Clifford Chance LLP & Associates International Law Firm
Address: 45 Longdales Road, Lincoln LN2 2JS United Kingdom.

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Quick menu:

• What is "Compensation To Cyber Crime Victims" 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, even if they include information of such nature. 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 potentially compromised accounts and inform their official support without delay. However, if you have disclosed other private data (e.g., ID card details, passport scans/photos, credit/debit card numbers, etc.) – immediately contact relevant authorities.

I have read a spam email but didn't open the attachment, is my computer infected?

Reading an email is harmless; 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 system was infected might depend on the format of the opened file. Executables causing infections almost without fail (upon being opened). However, some formats – like documents – require additional actions (e.g., enabling macros, clicking embedded content, etc.) to initiate infection processes.

Will Combo Cleaner remove malware infections present in email attachments?

Combo Cleaner can scan computers and eliminate all kinds of threats. It is capable of detecting and removing most of the known malware infections. Remember that performing a full system scan is paramount since high-end malicious software typically hides deep within systems.