How to spot scams like "Document Ready For Your Signature"

What kind of email is "Document Ready For Your Signature"?

We have inspected this email and determined that it is a phishing scam. The message is disguised as an official notification from DocuSign, a widely used electronic signature service, claiming that a document has been sent to the recipient and requires their review and signature. Clicking the link in the email leads to a fraudulent page designed to steal email account credentials. This email should be ignored to avoid account compromise and identity theft.

"Document Ready For Your Signature" email scam overview

The email poses as a routine DocuSign notification, telling the recipient that a document awaiting their signature has been sent to them. A prominent button labeled "Review & Sign Document" is included, accompanied by reassurances that the process takes less than two minutes and that the document is "secure" and "encrypted." These details are designed to lower suspicion and prompt the recipient to act quickly without questioning the email's legitimacy.

Clicking the button opens a page hosted on storage.yandexcloud.net, a legitimate cloud storage service that has been abused to host phishing content. The page does not show any actual document. Instead, it displays a fake email account login form. In the case we investigated, the page rendered a fake Gmail "Verify it's you" prompt asking for an email address and password.

The phishing page appears to identify the recipient's email provider based on their email address and then mimic the corresponding login interface. Someone using a Gmail account would see a fake Gmail sign-in form, while recipients using other providers would likely be shown a different fake login page tailored to match their service.

Any credentials entered on that page go directly to the scammers. With access to someone's email inbox, attackers can reset passwords for linked accounts, read private correspondence, impersonate the victim to their contacts, and gain access to a wide range of connected services. Stolen credentials are sometimes sold or used in follow-up attacks.

It is important to note that DocuSign has no involvement in this scam. The email uses DocuSign's name and formatting purely to appear trustworthy. The real DocuSign company is not responsible for these messages in any way.

Similar phishing scam emails

In summary, the "Document Ready For Your Signature" email is a phishing scam that impersonates DocuSign to trick recipients into handing over their email account credentials on a fraudulent page. Anyone who entered their details on the linked site should change their password immediately and review their account for any signs of unauthorized access. Sometimes, scams like this are also used to deliver malware.

More examples of similar credential-theft and phishing emails include Bank Of America - Unusual Activities In Account, American Express - Merchant Credit/Payment Approval, and AT&T Payment Could Not Be Processed.

How do spam campaigns infect computers?

Spam emails are a common vehicle for distributing malware. Cybercriminals attach malicious files directly to messages or include links leading to harmful websites. These files can appear in many formats - executable programs, compressed archives, PDF documents, Microsoft Office files, JavaScript scripts, and others. Opening them, or in some cases enabling features like malicious macro commands in an Office document, is enough to trigger a malware infection.

Links in spam emails can redirect to sites that automatically download harmful programs or prompt the user to do so. In most cases, some form of user interaction - opening a file, clicking a link, or running an installer - is required before the malware can take hold on the system.

How to avoid installation of malware?

Treat any unexpected email with caution, especially one that urges immediate action or arrives from an unfamiliar sender. Do not open attachments or click buttons and links in messages you were not expecting. When in doubt, verify the email's legitimacy by contacting the supposed sender directly through official channels before doing anything else.

Download software and files only from official websites and trusted sources. Avoid third-party download portals, torrenting sites, and tools that claim to crack or activate paid software - these are frequently used to bundle malware. Keep your operating system and all installed programs up to date to close off known vulnerabilities.

Make sure a reputable antivirus program is installed and running. If you suspect you have already interacted with a malicious attachment, we recommend running a scan with Combo Cleaner Antivirus for Windows to automatically detect and remove any threats that may have been installed.

Text presented in the "Document Ready For Your Signature" email letter:

Subject: Document Ready: Complete in Under 2 Minutes

Document Ready for Your Signature
You have received a document that requires your review and signature.
[Review & Sign Document]
Takes less than 2 minutes to complete.
Secure • Encrypted •
Sent to ********

A fake email login page used in this scam (hosted on storage.yandexcloud[.]net):

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Quick menu:

• What is Document Ready For Your Signature phishing 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?

These messages are not personally targeted. Scammers send phishing emails in bulk to large numbers of addresses gathered through data breaches, fake websites, and other methods. Many people can receive the same email at the same time.

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

If you entered your email account password on the linked page, change it immediately and enable two-factor authentication on your account if the option is available. Check your inbox and connected accounts for any suspicious activity. If other sensitive details were shared, such as banking information or identity documents, contact the relevant institutions as soon as possible.

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

It depends on the file type. Executable files can compromise a system almost immediately upon being opened. Document formats such as Word files or PDFs are generally less risky on their own - they typically require the user to take an additional step, like enabling macros or running an embedded installer, before any malware activates.

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

No. Simply reading or viewing an email does not cause infection. A system can only be compromised if the user actively opens a malicious attachment, clicks a harmful link, or otherwise engages with dangerous content in the message.

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

Yes. Combo Cleaner is designed to detect and remove the vast majority of known malware threats. Running a complete system scan is recommended, as some advanced threats may conceal themselves deep within the system and require a thorough scan to be fully identified and eliminated.