How to recognize scams like "New Operational Directives And Contingency Guidelines"

What is "New Operational Directives And Contingency Guidelines" scam?

Our analysis shows that this is a phishing email disguised as an "official internal memo". It is designed to trick recipients into opening a deceptive website and entering personal information. Usually, victims of such scams experience issues such as account hijacking, identity theft, or other negative consequences.

More about the "New Operational Directives And Contingency Guidelines" scam email

This scam email claims to be an official internal notice from company management about important operational updates due to a major international conflict. It says employees must log into a staff portal to read new directives and confirm they have reviewed them.

The message pressures recipients to click the link (labeled "Go to Official Staff Portal" or "Submit Acknowledgment"). During our examination, the provided website was down. Usually, scam emails like this one lead to fake login websites designed to steal email addresses and passwords (or other login information).

Stolen data can be used to access email accounts and collect sensitive information from messages, send fraudulent emails, distribute malware, or perform other harmful actions. Attackers may also try the same login details on other accounts, such as banking, social media, or gaming platforms.

This can lead to problems like financial loss, identity theft, and damage to a victim's reputation. That is why it is important to carefully review suspicious emails and avoid clicking links or sharing personal information.

Similar scam emails in general

Scam emails like this are designed to look official, so recipients act quickly without thinking. They often use links that lead to fake websites meant to steal login credentials or other sensitive information. Once scammers obtain this data, they can access accounts, send malicious messages, or misuse the information for fraud.

Sometimes, deceptive emails are used to deliver malware. More examples of email scams are "Pending Configuration Verification Email Scam", "Vendor Agreement Email Scam", and "RAM - Gift Parcel Delivery Email Scam".

How do spam campaigns infect computers?

Malware is spread through emails using infected attachments or malicious links. Attachments such as documents (e.g., Word or PDF files), executables, archives, or scripts can contain hidden malware that activates when opened or interacted with in other ways.

Links in emails can lead to unsafe websites that may automatically download malware or trick users into downloading and running malware themselves.

How to avoid installation of malware?

Keep your operating system and applications up to date, and only download programs from official or trusted sources. Avoid pirated software, cracks, and key generators. Be careful with emails or messages from unknown senders, especially if they contain links or attachments, and open them only if you are sure they are safe.

Avoid clicking on suspicious ads, links, or content on untrustworthy websites, and do not allow such sites to send notifications.

Text presented in the "New Operational Directives And Contingency Guidelines" email letter:

Subject: Office Mandatory Staff Notice: Review of Updated Operational Directives

Official Internal Memo
From: Office of the Director, Corporate Administration
To: All Staff
Date: 23 March, 2026

Due to the rapidly escalating conflict in the Middle East and the reported closure of the Strait of Hormuz, management has issued a set of new operational directives and contingency guidelines.

All staff members are required to log in to the official staff portal and carefully review the newly published directives. These updates contain important instructions regarding operational continuity, security awareness, and departmental responsibilities during this period.

Please ensure you read the document in full and confirm acknowledgment after reviewing the instructions.
Go to Official Staff Portal
I confirm that I have signed in to the official portal and review the new management directives.

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Quick menu:

• What is New Operational Directives And Contingency Guidelines 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 sent to large numbers of recipients at the same time. Scammers gather email addresses using methods like data breaches, fake websites, and other similar tactics.

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

If information like credit card or identification details has been shared, the relevant organizations or authorities should be contacted. If login credentials were exposed, passwords for any affected accounts should be changed immediately.

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

Files like .exe can trigger an infection immediately when they are executed. In contrast, documents such as PDFs or Word files are usually safer, as simply opening them does not normally cause an infection. The level of risk depends on the file type and what actions are taken.

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

Opening/reading an email without clicking links or interacting with its content does not result in a system infection.

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

Combo Cleaner can detect and remove most known malware, but some advanced threats may still hide in the system. Running a full system scan helps increase the chances of finding and removing any hidden malware.