How to identify scams like "Wells Fargo - Pending Wire Transfer"

What kind of scam is "Wells Fargo - Pending Wire Transfer"?

Our analysis has revealed that this is a scam email posing as a message from Wells Fargo Bank. Its purpose is to trick recipients into replying. The scammers behind this email are probably attempting to steal personal information, money, or both from unsuspecting recipients. This scam email should be ignored.

More about the "Wells Fargo - Pending Wire Transfer" scam email

This email is presented as a message from the Chair of the Federal Reserve. It claims that a large wire transfer of $870,493.87 is pending for the recipient's bank account. It provides fake banking information, including account number, routing number, and bank address, and states that the transfer will proceed automatically if the recipient recognizes it.

The message instructs the recipient to reply with updated bank details and a WhatsApp or Telegram number if they did not authorize the transaction. Generally, it is designed to appear official and legitimate, but it is a scam designed to steal personal information or money.

Once contacted, scammers may try to trick recipients into disclosing details, such as full names, addresses, dates of birth, Social Security numbers, credit card details, or other details. They may also attempt to lure victims into sending money by claiming that it is required to pay for some "administration", "transaction", or other fees.

In any case, recipients of this email should not reply and delete the email. Falling for such scams can lead to various issues, including identity theft and monetary loss.

Conclusion

In conclusion, this email is a fraudulent attempt that impersonates a bank to deceive recipients. Its goal is to steal personal information or money by creating a false sense of legitimacy and urgency. Ignoring and deleting such messages is essential to avoid identity theft, financial loss, or other risks.

It is important to note that emails of this type can sometimes be used to trick recipients into executing malware on their devices. Some examples of similar scam emails are "Webmail Profile Will Be Deactivated Email Scam", "Your Mailbox Needs Attention Email Scam", and "You Are Not Permitted To Send Messages Email Scam".

How do spam campaigns infect computers?

Deceptive emails are commonly used to spread malware through malicious links or infected files/attachments. These files may look like harmless documents (e.g., Word, PDF, or Excel files), archives, or executables, but can contain and deploy malware once opened or after certain additional actions are taken.

The links may direct users to unsafe websites that attempt to download malicious software or deceive users into running it. In most cases, infection occurs only when the recipient interacts with the harmful content.

How to avoid installation of malware?

Do not open files and links in irrelevant or unexpected emails (or other messages) from unknown senders. Download programs and files from reliable sources (e.g., official websites or app stores). Avoid interacting with content (e.g., links, buttons, or ads) on questionable websites and do not permit websites of this kind to send notifications.

Regularly update the operating system (and installed apps) and regularly run scans using a reliable security tool.

The appearance of the scam email (GIF):

Text presented in the "Wells Fargo - Pending Wire Transfer" email letter:

Hello,

I hope this email finds you well.

I'm Jerome H. Powell, Chair of the Federal Reserve of the United States.

We are contacting you regarding a pending wire transfer that is scheduled to be credited to the bank account details listed below:

Bank Name Wells Fargo Bank

Account Holder Name Zhen Lung

Account Type Checking

Routing Number 121000248

Account Number 987654321045

Amount US$870,493.87

Branch Address 1234 Main St, Anytown, CA 90210, USA

Purpose Government Compensation

Swift / BIC WFBIUS6SXXX

If you recognize and authorize this transaction, no further action is required, and the payment will proceed within 24 hours.

If you did not authorize this transaction, kindly reply to this email with your correct bank details and WhatsApp or Telegram number to enable us to verify with you personally before proceeding with the wire transfer.

Looking forward to receiving your reply.

Best regards,

Jerome H. Powell

Chair of the Federal Reserve of the United States
20th Street and Constitution Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20551

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Quick menu:

• What is Wells Fargo - Pending Wire Transfer fake 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?

These emails are usually impersonal and sent to numerous addresses, with recipient addresses often collected from data breaches, unreliable websites, or similar sources.

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

If there is a risk that an account has been compromised, the password should be changed right away and any theft of sensitive data, such as ID or credit card information, should be reported to the corresponding authorities.

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

The risk of malware infection varies based on the file type and the user's input. Executable files or scripts can compromise a system immediately when opened, while documents and similar files are usually harmless unless additional actions are taken.

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

A computer can be infected only when a user clicks a link, opens an attachment, or interacts with malicious content. Simply opening an email without further action does not pose a risk.

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

Combo Cleaner can detect and remove the majority of known threats, but more advanced or deeply hidden malware may require a full system scan for complete removal.