How to identify fake "DHL - Soft Copies Of Your Shipping Documents" emails

What kind of email is "DHL - Soft Copies Of Your Shipping Documents"?

Upon examining this "DHL - Soft Copies Of Your Shipping Documents" email, we determined that it is fake. This spam message claims to have shipping documents attached. The attachment is a malicious file intended to infect recipients' devices with malware.

"DHL - Soft Copies Of Your Shipping Documents" email virus overview

The spam email with the subject "DHL Shipment Notification Ref ID: 44633179800" (may vary) is presented as a message from DHL. This fake notification claims to have soft copies of shipping documents attached. The recipient is advised to track their shipment status and print the attachment.

It must be stressed that the information in this email is false, and this mail is not associated with the actual DHL logistics and shipping company.

The attachment – "Original-Shipping-Documents-987576691.docx" (filename may vary) – is a malicious Microsoft Word document intended to infect recipients' systems with malware. Once the user clicks "Enable Editing" (i.e., enables malicious macro commands) on the document – they trigger the infection chain.

The malware spread by this spam campaign has not been identified. Many VirusTotal detections identify the attachment as a downloader trojan. In which case, this would be a malicious program designed to cause chain infections (i.e., download/install additional malware). Hence, what the final payload is may vary.

To elaborate on some popular types of malicious software, the term "trojan" encompasses programs with a variety of harmful functionalities.

Widespread trojans include those that cause chain infections (downloaders, loaders, backdoors, droppers), inject malicious code into processes/services (injectors), perform spying activities (spyware), extract data from systems/apps (stealers), steal files (grabbers), copy and/or replace clipboard contents (clippers), and others. Ransomware is another prevalent type; it operates by encrypting victims' files and demanding a ransom for the decryption.

To summarize, by trusting an email like "DHL - Soft Copies Of Your Shipping Documents" – users can experience system infections, severe privacy issues, financial losses, and identity theft.

If you believe that your device is already infected – immediately perform a complete system scan with an antivirus and eliminate all detected threats.

Malspam campaign examples

"Annual Financial Review Status", "Monthly e-Statement", and Your Statement Is Available For Review are merely a few of our latest articles on malspam. These emails proliferate all kinds of malware.

Spam email campaigns are also used to promote various scams, such as advance fee, refund, sextortion, and technical support, among others.

Spam emails are incredibly common, and they can appear legitimate – therefore, we strongly recommend exercising caution with incoming emails, PMs/DMs, SMSes, and other messages.

How do spam campaigns infect computers?

"DHL - Soft Copies Of Your Shipping Documents" campaign emails include a virulent Microsoft Word attachment. This document uses malicious macro commands to jumpstart the infection. After the victim enables macros (i.e., presses the "Enable Editing" button), the malware download/installation chain is initiated.

It is pertinent to mention that malspam is a widespread malware proliferation technique. It entails infectious files that are attached to or linked inside the emails/messages. These files come in different formats, such as documents (Microsoft Office, Microsoft OneNote, PDF, etc.), archives (ZIP, RAR, etc.), executables (EXE, RUN, etc.), JavaScript, and others. Triggering the infection chain may require performing various actions, yet for many formats – merely opening the file is enough.

How to avoid installation of malware?

Incoming emails and other communications must be approached with caution. We advise against opening attachments or links present in suspicious/irrelevant mail, as they can be virulent.

However, malware is not spread exclusively via spam campaigns. Therefore, we recommend being careful while browsing since the Internet is full of deceptive and malicious content. Another recommendation is to download only from official and trustworthy sources. Programs must be activated and updated using legitimate functions/tools, as illegal activation tools ("cracks") and third-party updates may contain malware.

We must emphasize the importance of having a dependable antivirus installed and kept updated. This software must be used to perform 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 "DHL - Soft Copies Of Your Shipping Documents" spam email letter:

Subject: DHL Shipment Notification Ref ID: 44633179800

Dear Customer,

Find attached the soft copies of your shipping documents to this email. kindly check to track your shipment status and print shipping documents.

We are pleased to provide you with delivery that fits your life.

Thanks and regards,
Ann-Kristine Johansson
Customer Service Director
DHL Express
GOGREEN – Environmental Protection with DHL

Malicious attachment distributed via this spam campaign ("Original-Shipping-Documents-987576691.docx"):

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Quick menu:

• What is "DHL - Soft Copies Of Your Shipping Documents" malspam?
• 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 details relevant to the recipients. Thousands of users receive identical or incredibly similar messages, as they are distributed in mass-scale campaigns.

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

Merely reading an email does not pose an infection threat. Systems are compromised when malicious attachments or links are opened/clicked.

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

File formats may influence infection success rates. Once opened, executables cause infections almost without fail. However, some formats – such as documents (.doc, .xls, .one, .pdf, etc.) – might need additional interaction. In these instances, the infection chain is initiated after macros are enabled, embedded content is clicked, or other actions are performed.

Will Combo Cleaner remove malware infections present in email attachments?

Combo Cleaner is designed to scan computers and remove all kinds of threats. It can detect and eliminate most of the known malware infections. Remember that performing a complete system scan is key, as sophisticated malicious software tends to hide deep within systems.