What is the "Revised Invoice" email scam

What is "Revised Invoice Email Scam"?

We have examined this email and determined that it is a phishing scam. Disguised as a business communication about a revised invoice, it lures recipients to a fraudulent website designed to steal corporate email credentials. This email should be ignored to prevent unauthorized account access and potential data breaches.

"Revised Invoice Email Scam" overview

The email arrives under the subject "Financial Management_Policy_v4" and poses as a notice from "Portfolio and Financial Management." It claims to contain a revised invoice for an unnamed project and asks the recipient to acknowledge receipt. An item listed as "Approve_Operational Tender Invoice PDF" serves as the entry point.

Clicking that link leads to a phishing page at dancing-froyo-1eba9c.netlify[.]app. The site mimics an Adobe Acrobat document viewer, displaying a fake PDF titled "Approve_Operational_Policy_v4.pdf." A pop-up then appears claiming the document is locked and requires identity verification to view.

The pop-up asks for a "Corporate Identity (Email)" and a password to "Unlock Document." This is a credential-harvesting form. Nothing gets unlocked - any details typed in are sent directly to the scammers behind the campaign.

Stolen corporate email credentials can give attackers access to business inboxes, internal file systems, and shared platforms. Compromised accounts are frequently used to send follow-up phishing emails to colleagues, widening the attack across an organization.

Neither the "Portfolio and Financial Management" entity referenced in the email nor any legitimate organization is linked to this scam. Recipients should delete the message immediately and avoid interacting with any links or attachments it contains.

Similar scam emails in general

In conclusion, this email is a credential phishing scam disguised as a routine business invoice. It leads recipients to a fake document portal where entering login details hands them over to the attackers. Delete the email immediately and report it to your IT or security team if applicable. Sometimes, scams like this are also used to deliver malware.

More examples of similar scam emails are Account Maintenance Notification, Mailbox Storage & Security Check, and We Have Processed Your Payment.

How do spam campaigns infect computers?

Threat actors distribute malware through email by attaching malicious files or embedding download links. These files commonly arrive as executable programs, compressed archives, PDF documents, spreadsheets, or script files. Opening a malicious file - or enabling features within it, such as malicious macro commands - can silently install malware on the device.

Links in spam emails can also lead to sites that automatically download malware on visit, or that present convincing prompts to manually run a harmful program. In most cases, some level of user interaction is required before the infection takes hold.

How to avoid installation of malware?

Treat unsolicited emails with caution, particularly those referencing invoices, deliveries, or urgent account actions. Do not open attachments or follow links in messages from unknown or unexpected senders.

Download software only from official websites or verified app stores. Avoid pirated programs, cracks, and key generators - these are a common distribution method for malware.

Keep the operating system and installed software updated, as patches often close known security gaps. Use a reputable antivirus tool and run regular scans. If you have already opened a suspicious attachment, we recommend running a scan with Combo Cleaner Antivirus for Windows to automatically eliminate any infiltrated malware.

Text presented in the "Revised Invoice Email Scam" email letter:

Subject: Financial Management_Policy_v4

Dear ********,

Please find attached the revised invoice V4 pertaining to the above-mentioned project for your reference and record.We undertake that the actual percentage of this payment has been checked according to the executed work

Kindly acknowledge receipt. Should you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact us.

Revised Invoices
[Approve_Operational Tender Invoice PDF]

Best Regards,
Portfolio and Financial Management

A fake identity verification page used in this scam:

Instant automatic malware removal:

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Quick menu:

• What is Revised Invoice 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 sent in bulk to large numbers of recipients. Scammers gather email addresses through data breaches, fake websites, and similar means. The email is generic and not personally targeted.

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

If you entered your email credentials, change the password for that account immediately - and for any other account that uses the same password. Contact your organization's IT team right away, since corporate access may be at risk.

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

Executable files typically install malware as soon as they are opened. Document formats like PDFs or spreadsheets usually require an additional step - such as enabling macros - before any infection occurs. The level of risk depends on the file type and how it was handled.

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

Opening or reading an email is harmless on its own. Infection only occurs through interacting with an attachment, a link, or another embedded element. If nothing was clicked, your device is not at risk.

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

Combo Cleaner can detect and remove most known malware. Running a full system scan is essential, however, since sophisticated threats may conceal themselves in deeper areas of the system and require thorough detection to be found.