How to identify scams like "Philanthropic Financial Gift"

What kind of scam is "Philanthropic Financial Gift"?

Our team has examined the email and found it to be a classic advance-fee scam. The goal of the email is to trick the recipient into sharing personal information or sending money, or both. It is important to recognize such scams and never respond to them or follow their instructions to avoid financial loss and other consequences.

More about the "Philanthropic Financial Gift" scam email

The email claims that Dr. Miriam Adelson, supposedly a physician and philanthropist, has established a private initiative to identify and support individuals with exceptional integrity and the potential to contribute meaningfully to their communities. It states that the recipient has been selected to receive a direct donation of $4,000,000.

To claim the donation, the recipient is instructed to contact a legal representative via mcdaniel@frontier.com and provide their full name and preferred contact method for verification. Usually, scams like this are designed to extract personal identification information, credit card details, or other personal information from unsuspecting individuals.

Also, scammers often try to trick recipients into paying fake administration, legal, transaction, processing, or other fees to steal money. Falling for such scams can result in financial loss, identity theft, or other issues. It is important to note that if scammers succeed once, they may try to target the victim again using different types of scams.

Once someone falls for one scam, scammers assume they might fall for other fraudulent schemes, such as fake investments, phishing, tech support scams, or additional fake donations.

Conclusion

In conclusion, this email is a fraudulent advance-fee scam that is crafted to manipulate the recipient into responding. Its purpose is to obtain personal information or steal money by offering a large financial gift as a lure. Engaging with such messages can lead to financial loss, identity theft, and repeated targeting by scammers.

Sometimes, emails of this kind can be used to deliver malware. Some examples of similar scams are "Federal Equity Trust Bank Compensation Email Scam", "Santander Bank - Unclaimed Balance Email Scam", and "Donation From My Company Email Scam".

How do spam campaigns infect computers?

Cybercriminals often use email as a delivery method for malicious software by embedding it in attachments or using malicious links. The attachments may appear as ordinary files, such as documents, PDFs, or compressed folders, but can contain malware. When a recipient opens the file and enables certain features, the malware can infiltrate the device.

Unsafe links in emails may lead to fraudulent or compromised websites. These sites can trigger automatic downloads or prompt users to download and run a file or program, which can then infect the system.

How to avoid installation of malware?

Get applications and software directly from verified, official websites or trusted app stores, and avoid using illegal copies (pirated software), activation tools, or cracking tools. Be careful when browsing websites, and ignore suspicious advertisements, pop-ups, or links, and do not agree to get notifications from dubious sites.

Treat unexpected emails and messages with caution, especially if they contain links or attachments. In addition, regularly update your operating system and programs, and perform routine system scans to detect potential threats.

Text presented in the "Philanthropic Financial Gift" email letter:

Subject: A Gesture of Philanthropic Commitment

Greetings ,

I hope this message finds you in good health and high spirits.

I am Dr. Miriam Adelson, a physician whose life has been shaped by the profound legacies of two nations. Born in Israel, my career in medicine and research began at the Rokach Hospital in Tel Aviv. In the United States, alongside my late husband, the visionary Sheldon G. Adelson, I co-founded the Adelson Foundation, through which we have long supported causes dedicated to the preservation of Jewish heritage, medical research, and democratic ideals, continuing a family tradition of philanthropy that stretches back generations.

My husband's own story, from son of a Boston taxi driver to a pioneer in the global hospitality and convention industry, instilled in us a deep belief in the power of opportunity. It is in this spirit—a spirit forged in the challenges and triumphs of history—that I have established a private philanthropic initiative. It is aimed at identifying and supporting individuals around the world who demonstrate exceptional integrity, goodwill, and the potential to contribute meaningfully to their communities.

You have been selected to receive a direct donation of $ 4,000,000.00 USD. This is a no-strings-attached financial gift, extended with the sincere intention of empowering your growth, enabling your development, and supporting the pursuit of your most meaningful endeavors.

Should you wish to verify this initiative and my background, you may refer to recent public reports on my philanthropic activities, such as this article from the Times of Israel: Miriam Adelson's Philanthropic Pledge

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To proceed with claiming this donation, please forward your message of acceptance and inquiry to my designated legal representative, Mr. Scott Glover, via email: mcdaniel@frontier.com

Please ensure your response includes your full name and a preferred method of contact to facilitate the necessary verification procedures.

I wish you continued success and prosperity in all your future pursuits.

Sincerely,

Dr. Miriam Adelson
Physician | Publisher (Former Owner, Las Vegas Review-Journal) |
Philanthropist
Co-Founder, Adelson Foundation
Custodian of the Adelson Family Legacy

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Quick menu:

• What is Philanthropic Financial Gift advance-fee scam?
• 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?

Scammers send the same message to many people and hope that at least one person will respond. These emails are not personalized and are written in a general way so they can be sent to anyone.

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

If any login details were shared, change the passwords for affected accounts and any other accounts using the same or similar passwords. If other sensitive information was provided, such as credit card numbers or identification details, contact your bank or the relevant authorities immediately.

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

The risk depends on the type of file. Infected executable files can deploy malware as soon as they are opened. Other file types, such as PDFs or Word documents, may not infect a device unless the user takes additional actions.

I have sent cryptocurrency to the address presented in such email, can I get my money back?

After a cryptocurrency transaction is confirmed on the blockchain, it generally cannot be reversed. There is usually no way to cancel or recover the funds once they are sent.

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

A system becomes at risk only if the recipient clicks on malicious links or opens malicious attachments/files.

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

Combo Cleaner is capable of detecting and removing most known malware. However, some advanced threats can conceal themselves deep within the system. For this reason, performing a full system scan is recommended to ensure no hidden malicious components remain.