How to identify scams like "Funds Secured"

What is "Funds Secured" scam?

We have reviewed the message and found that it is a deceptive message disguised as a payment report. The fraudsters behind it seek to trick recipients into opening shady websites through the provided link. Whoever receives this email should ignore and delete it to avoid potential risks.

More about the "Funds Secured" scam email

The email claims that the recipient’s account was recently reviewed, that a balance of over $23,000 has been verified and secured, and that the funds are ready for withdrawal. It says the recipient is one step away from completing the transfer and suggests that verification has already been completed successfully.

During our analysis, the provided link ("Complete cashout") redirected to Google's web platform for creating and running scripts. It is legitimate and owned by Google, but scammers sometimes abuse it to host phishing pages or redirect links. Since the link is promoted through a scam email, it may redirect users to untrustworthy websites.

Those sites may be designed to steal money (including cryptocurrency) or personal information (e.g., passwords or credit card details). They may also host technical support scams or unwanted applications (sometimes malicious ones). Overall, users may be tricked into paying for fake products or services, downloading unwanted software, sharing sensitive details, etc.

Therefore, links in scam emails like this should not be opened, and messages of this type should be deleted.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the email is a scam that falsely claims funds are available for withdrawal in order to lure recipients into clicking a suspicious link. Although the link uses a legitimate domain, such services are sometimes abused by scammers. Interacting with these links may result in financial loss, stolen personal information, or unwanted software installation.

Sometimes, fraudulent emails can lead to system infections. Some examples of other scams delivered using email are "Photos & Documents Will Be Deleted", "Your Device Was Compromised By My Private Malware", and "Intuit QuickBooks Subscription Is Due For Renewal".

How do spam campaigns infect computers?

Attackers use fraudulent emails to spread malicious software by attaching malicious files. These files may be documents, ZIP or RAR archives, scripts, executable files, and opening or enabling their content (or taking other additional actions) can compromise the device and execute malware.

Scam messages can also include deceptive links that redirect users to deceptive or compromised websites. These pages may attempt to download malware automatically or trick users into downloading and running it themselves.

How to avoid installation of malware?

It is advisable to avoid interacting with pop-ups, deceptive buttons, misleading advertisements, or questionable links while visiting suspicious pages. Any unexpected emails or messages, particularly those from unknown senders or containing attachments and links, should be examined before interacting with them.

It is also recommended to refuse notification permission requests from unfamiliar or unverified websites. Also, users should download software only from official pages or reputable app stores, keep their systems and applications up to date, and run regular scans using trusted security software.

The appearance of the site used to redirect users (GIF):

Text presented in the "Funds Secured" email letter:

Subject: Payment report — Update — current balance $25298,47

Funds secured!

Funds are now available

Great news,

Your recent account review has been completed, and the balance shown below is fully verified and ready for withdrawal.

Ready to transfer

$23,081.49

You are just one step away from completing the transfer.
Complete cashout

Verification complete • Funds secured • Ready to transfer

Instant automatic malware removal:

Manual threat removal might be a lengthy and complicated process that requires advanced IT skills. Combo Cleaner is a professional automatic malware removal tool that is recommended to get rid of malware. Download it by clicking the button below:

By downloading any software listed on this website you agree to our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use. To use full-featured product, you have to purchase a license for Combo Cleaner. 7 days free trial available. Combo Cleaner is owned and operated by RCS LT, the parent company of PCRisk.com.

Quick menu:

• What is Funds Secured fake payment report?
• 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 often send identical messages to large numbers of recipients at once. These spam emails are typically generic and lack any personal details about recipients.

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

If login credentials have been exposed, all passwords connected to those accounts should be changed. When sensitive data such as credit card information, ID documents, or other personal details has been leaked, the relevant bank or official institutions should be contacted.

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

It depends on the type of file involved. For instance, infected executable files can compromise a device simply by being run, while other formats such as documents may only trigger infection after the user performs extra actions.

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

Simply opening an email is harmless and does not affect the system. However, systems can be infected if the user interacts with malicious attachments or clicks on links within deceptive messages.

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

Combo Cleaner can remove most malware. Still, more advanced malware can sometimes evade detection by concealing itself within the system. For that reason, running a full system scan is advisable.