How to recognize scams like "My Benefits - Your Claim Statement Is Ready"

What kind of scam is "My Benefits - Your Claim Statement Is Ready"?

Our review has shown that this is a phishing attempt disguised as a claim notification. It is crafted to appear legitimate to trick recipients into opening a deceptive website and disclosing personal information. Victims of this scam can lose access to their accounts and encounter additional issues.

More about the "My Benefits - Your Claim Statement Is Ready" scam email

This scam email is disguised as a message from the official benefits portal for Johnston Group, a company that manages employee benefits in Canada. It informs the recipient that a claim statement has been prepared and encourages them to view it by clicking on a provided link ("View your benefit claim" button).

It suggests that this statement can be accessed under the "Usage and History" section of a benefits website. It also mentions that any reimbursements will be deposited within a few business days. The website included in this scam email pretends to be the recipient's email service.

For example, if the recipient uses Gmail, it displays a fake Gmail sign-in page asking for the email address and password. Any information entered is captured and sent directly to the scammers. Fraudsters can use stolen information to take control of email accounts and potentially other online services.

Once an email account is compromised, scammers often look for personal information in messages, send fraudulent emails to contacts, distribute malware, or carry out other harmful actions. They may also try to use the stolen credentials to access social media, gaming, banking, or other accounts, potentially leading to identity theft, financial loss, or other malicious outcomes.

Moreover, stolen details can be sold to third parties (other cybercriminals). Therefore, this and similar emails should not be trusted.

Conclusion

This email is a scam designed to steal login information. Clicking its links or entering any details can lead to account takeover, identity theft, financial loss, and other negative outcomes. It is important to note that fraudulent emails can be used to distribute malware.

Additional examples of scam emails are "Roundcube Pending Messages Email Scam", "Issue With Message Delivery To Your Account Email Scam", and "Security Notifications - Email Service Scam".

How do spam campaigns infect computers?

Cybercriminals often exploit email to deliver malware, using either infected attachments or untrustworthy websites. Attachments may be infected documents, executable files, compressed files, scripts, or other files. These files can activate malware when opened or when functions like macros are enabled.

Scam emails can also contain links that direct users to websites that either automatically install malware or use deceptive methods to trick users into downloading it themselves. Devices can be compromised when users interact with these malicious links or files.

How to avoid installation of malware?

Be careful with unexpected or irrelevant emails, particularly those containing links or attachments. Avoid opening those files (or links) if an email looks suspicious. Do not click on ads or pop-ups found on untrusted websites, and block these sites from sending notifications if they request permission to do so.

Use reliable security software to scan your devices for threats on a regular basis. Only download software from official sources or authorized app stores, and avoid pirated programs, cracks, or key generators. Regularly update your operating system, browser, and applications.

Text presented in the "My Benefits - Your Claim Statement Is Ready" email letter:

Subject: Claim notification to ********.pdf

Hi ********

Your claim statement is ready.

Your Explanation of Benefits or Claim Estimate has been prepared. You can view your statement at any time under the Usage & History tab in www.my-benefits . Any reimbursements will be deposited in 2-3 business days.

Submit Claims From Your Mobile Device!

View your benefit claim

Fake website used in this scam:

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Quick menu:

• What is My Benefits - Your Claim Statement Is Ready 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?

This is a generic scam email targeting many users. Your contact information may have been obtained from stolen databases, compromised accounts, or other online sources.

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

If scammers have accessed your login information, update the passwords for all affected accounts right away. If the compromise involves financial or personal identity information, inform the relevant institutions immediately.

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

The risk of infection varies depending on the type of file, and malware can be delivered through various file types. For example, executable files, like .exe, can infect a system immediately when opened, while documents are generally safer unless they have features such as macros enabled.

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

Reading an email alone is safe. A device is only at risk if you interact with a malicious link or attachment.

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

Although Combo Cleaner eliminates most malware, running a full scan helps ensure that any hidden threats are detected and removed.