How to spot scams like the fake "Vendor Agreement"

What is "Vendor Agreement" scam?

Our team has determined that it is a phishing email disguised as a message regarding a vendor agreement. It is designed to trick recipients into opening a fake website that instructs visitors to enter personal information. Victims of this scam may experience account hijacking and other negative consequences.

More about the "Vendor Agreement" scam email

This scam email claims that a new agreement has been prepared and needs attention. It provides a reference number and a due date to appear legitimate and urgent. It also mentions that the agreement was prepared by a legal department. The email instructs the recipient to log in to complete the agreement through a provided link.

This is the main goal of the scam, as the link leads to a fraudulent website designed to steal login credentials. This information can be used to access personal accounts. Depending on the type of compromised account (e.g., social media, email, or banking account), it can be misused to steal money, spread scams, steal identities, distribute malware, etc.

Thus, it is highly advisable to carefully examine questionable emails before responding or entering information on the provided fake websites.

Similar scam emails in general

Scam emails like this are made to look legitimate and pressure the recipient into acting quickly. Their aim is to trick the recipient into clicking a link and entering sensitive information. Sometimes, these messages are used to deliver malware. It is important to stay cautious and verify suspicious messages before taking any action.

Additional examples of similar scams are "Storage Limit Reached", "Unusual Login Attempts And Password Attacks", and "Brief Service Interruption".

How do spam campaigns infect computers?

Malware is often spread through emails using attachments or links. Infected attachments are made to look like normal files, such as PDFs, Word or Excel documents, script files, executables, or ZIP and RAR files. When the user opens them (or enables certain features), the malware gets executed.

Links in emails can lead to fake or hacked websites. These sites may automatically download malware or trick visitors into downloading and running it by themselves.

How to avoid installation of malware?

Keep your operating system and all applications up to date. Only download software from official websites or trusted app stores, and avoid using pirated programs, cracks, or key generators. Do not click on suspicious ads, links, or content from unreliable websites, and never allow untrusted sites to send notifications.

Be careful with emails or messages from unknown senders, especially those with links or attachments, and do not interact with them unless you are sure they are safe.

Text presented in the "Vendor Agreement" email letter:

Subject: Important::: PYMT Processed for ********

Your Vendor Agreement is Ready

Hello ********,

A new agreement has been prepared for your attention regarding Addendum. You can log in to your account to complete this here : -

Agreement Details:

• Reference: MAR-CC-7394-AYP

• Prepared by: Legal

• Due: Fri 13, 2026
Log in to Complete Your Agreement →

Thank you for your continued partnership with Maison Santos.

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Quick menu:

• What is Vendor Agreement 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.

Quick menu:

• What is Vendor Agreement 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?

These emails are often generic and sent to many people at the same time. Scammers usually collect email addresses through data breaches, fake websites, and similar methods.

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

If sensitive details like credit card or identification information were provided, it is important to contact the relevant organizations or authorities right away. In case login credentials were exposed, change passwords for the potentially affected accounts.

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

Opening executable files, such as those with an .exe extension, can put a system at risk because they are capable of running malware once opened. Files like PDFs or Word documents are typically safer, as simply opening them does not usually cause an infection. The actual risk depends on the file type and the actions taken by the user.

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

Reading an email without clicking any links or interacting with it is generally safe.

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

Combo Cleaner can detect and remove many types of malware, but some advanced threats may still be unnoticed and remain on the system. Running a full system scan increases the chances of finding and removing any threats.