How to identify phishing scams like "Energy Australia - Please Cross Check The Invoice"

What is "Energy Australia - Please Cross Check The Invoice" scam?

Our analysis of the email has shown that this is a phishing email. It is disguised as a message from EnergyAustralia (a legitimate company in Australia) to appear legitimate and to trick recipients into opening the included website. The goal is to steal personal information that scammers can be misuse for malicious purposes.

More about the "Energy Australia - Please Cross Check The Invoice" scam email

The email informs the recipient that the sender has attempted to reach them by phone several times without success. It asks the recipient to cross-check the bank details shown in the attached invoice to ensure the information is correct. The email notes that the remittance is planned before the end of Monday to avoid any errors or discrepancies.

It claims to come from Paul Alex, the Internal Procurement Manager at Energy Australia, and provides contact details to appear legitimate. The purpose of this scam email is to trick recipients into clicking the provided link, the button labeled "View Invoice". However, there is no invoice, and the provided link opens a fake login website.

This site is designed to resemble the recipient's provider, such as Gmail, Yahoo Mail, or others, based on the recipient's email address. It instructs visitors to enter their email addresses and passwords to "sign in". However, the entered details are sent directly to scammers.

Typically, scammers use stolen credentials to access email accounts and use them to harvest other personal information (e.g., banking details), send scam emails, deliver malware, or engage in other malicious activities. They can also sell the obtained login details to other cybercriminals.

It is essential to note that scammers may attempt to access other accounts, such as gaming, banking, or social media, using the stolen login credentials. This could lead to additional issues, such as financial loss and identity theft.

Conclusion

This scam attempts to trick the recipient into clicking a fake invoice link that leads to a counterfeit email login page. The attackers aim to steal the victim's login credentials. This type of scam can lead to serious consequences, including financial loss and identity theft. Sometimes, falling for such scams can result in malware infiltration.

Some examples of similar phishing emails are "Message Has Been Blocked For Delivery Email Scam", "Mailbox Patch #13JCs20 Update Email Scam", and "Human Resources Report Email Scam".

How do spam campaigns infect computers?

Cybercriminals spread malware through email by sending infected attachments, such as Office files, PDFs, executables, compressed archives, ISO files, or scripts. These attachments can infect a device when opened or after features like macros in documents are enabled.

Scam emails may also contain links to deceptive or compromised websites that are designed to download malware or convince the user to download it manually. In most cases, a device becomes infected only when the user interacts with malicious content (files or links).

How to avoid installation of malware?

Always keep your operating system and applications up to date, and run regular scans using trusted security software. Refrain from clicking on ads, links, buttons, pop-ups, or any content on untrustworthy websites, and deny notification requests from suspicious pages.

Only download software or files from official sources or reputable app stores, and avoid pirated programs, cracks, or keygens. Be cautious with emails or messages if they are irrelevant, unexpected, and (or) from unknown senders, particularly those containing attachments or links. Do not open files or links in such messages.

Text presented in the "Energy Australia - Please Cross Check The Invoice" email letter:

Subject: Reminder for Request Quotation

please cross check the invoice

Dear Sir,

I trust this message finds you well.

I have tried reaching you by phone, but all attempts have been unsuccessful. Could you kindly cross-check the bank details provided in the attached invoice to confirm that they are accurate? Please review the invoice attached below:

The remittance will be made before the end of Monday, and I want to ensure there are no mistakes or discrepancies.

Thank you for your prompt attention to this matter.

Thanks & regards,

View Invoice

Download PDF

Paul Alex
Internal Procurement Manager
ENERGY AUSTRALIA
Business Gate Office Complex
Melbourne Quarter, 697 Collins Street, Melbourne.
Tel: +61468 177 820
www.energyaustralia.com[.]au
EnergyAustralia

Fake website used in this scam:

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Quick menu:

• What is Energy Australia - Please Cross Check The Invoice 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?

Cybercriminals collect email addresses from sources like leaked databases, fake signup forms, or use other methods. Because of this, the messages usually do not include personal details and are not customized for the recipient. They are generic and sent to all recipients at once.

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

When login details are compromised, immediately change passwords on all accounts that might be affected. If access to any account is lost, reach out to the service provider for help in recovering it.

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

Executable files can activate malware immediately, whereas documents are generally safer unless macros are turned on. In general, the chance of infection depends on both the type of file and how the user interacts with it.

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

Simply opening or reading an email does not cause harm. A device can become infected only if the recipient clicks on a malicious link or opens a harmful attachment.

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

Combo Cleaner can detect and remove most malware, but performing a full system scan is recommended to identify hidden or more sophisticated threats.