What kind of email is "Invoice Is Past Due"

What kind of email is "Invoice Is Past Due"?

We have examined this email and determined it is a scam. It is disguised as an urgent payment reminder from a legitimate-sounding business and tricks recipients into clicking a link that leads to a fake website built to steal their email account credentials. This email should be ignored to avoid losing access to personal or business accounts.

"Invoice Is Past Due" email scam overview

The email claims the recipient has an overdue invoice of $4,855.00 issued by a company called Wil-Mar Hydraulics & Machine Inc. It warns that a late fee of $85.00 will be added if payment is not received within seven days, and that the account may be sent to collections. The message includes a "View Invoice" button intended to pressure the recipient into acting quickly.

Although the website linked in this email is no longer active, it was designed to imitate an email service provider's login page. Sites like this are often crafted to match the recipient's specific email provider - showing a Gmail-styled form to Gmail users, or an Outlook-themed page to Microsoft users, for example.

Anything typed into such a page goes directly to the scammers. The primary goal is to steal the recipient's email account login credentials through this kind of phishing technique.

A compromised email account can cause serious damage. Scammers can read private correspondence, reset passwords for linked services, impersonate the account owner, and lock the original user out entirely. Business accounts are particularly attractive targets due to the sensitive information they typically contain.

It is important to note that Wil-Mar Hydraulics & Machine Inc has no connection to this scam. Fraudsters commonly borrow the names of real businesses to make fake invoices appear credible. The real company did not send this email and is not responsible in any way.

Email scams in general

In conclusion, this is a phishing scam that uses a fake invoice to pressure recipients into clicking a link - which leads to a page designed to steal email account credentials.

Scams like this are sometimes used to distribute malware as well. Deleting the email without interacting with it is always the safest option.

More examples of similar scam emails are Finance Department (General Manager) Secure File, Email Configuration Notice, and cPanel - Re-validate SSL/TLS.

How do spam campaigns infect computers?

Cybercriminals frequently deliver malware via email by attaching malicious files to their messages. Common formats include executables, Office documents, archives such as ZIP or RAR, PDFs, and script files. Opening these files - or enabling malicious macro commands within them - can trigger a malware installation.

Emails may also contain links to malicious websites. Visiting such a page can result in an automatic download, or prompt the user to run a harmful program manually. In most cases, the malware requires some form of interaction before it can take hold on the device.

How to avoid installation of malware?

Treat unsolicited emails with caution, particularly those urging you to open an attachment or click a link. Do not open files from unknown senders. Even when an email appears to come from a legitimate company, verify the request through an official channel before taking any action.

Download software exclusively from official websites and app stores. Avoid pirated content, key generators, and unofficial patches - these are frequently used to distribute malware. Keeping your operating system and applications updated helps close security gaps that malicious software commonly exploits.

Use reputable antivirus software and keep it enabled at all times. Avoid granting notification permissions to websites you do not recognize or trust. If you have already opened a suspicious attachment, we recommend running a scan with Combo Cleaner Antivirus for Windows to detect and remove any threats that may have infiltrated the system.

Text presented in the "Invoice Is Past Due" email letter:

Subject: FYI: ******** OUTSTANDNING OVERDUE INVOICES.

Hello ********,

The following invoice is now past due pay now
Invoice INV-0847
Date Issued: 23 July, 2026
Overdue Date: july 18, 2026
Amount Outstanding: $4,855.00

Please note: If payment is not received within 7 days, a late fee of $85.00 will be applied and this account may be referred to collections.

[View Invoice]

Regards,
Wil-Mar Hydraulics & Machine Inc

This message was sent to ******** regarding Purchase Order

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Quick menu:

• What is Invoice Is Past Due 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?

Scam emails like this one are not personally targeted. Fraudsters distribute them in bulk to large address lists, typically compiled through data breaches, scraping public records, or other collection methods. The same message is sent to many thousands of recipients at once.

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

If you entered your login credentials on the linked site, change the password for that account immediately - and update any other accounts that share the same password. If financial details were also disclosed, contact your bank or card provider as soon as possible.

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

That depends on the file type. Executable files tend to infect a system as soon as they are opened. Documents such as PDFs or Word files generally require additional steps - like enabling macros - before malware is able to run.

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

No. Simply reading or viewing an email does not put your computer at risk. Infection requires actively interacting with something in the message - opening an attachment, clicking a link, or running a downloaded file.

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

Yes. Combo Cleaner is designed to detect and remove a wide range of malware. However, a full system scan is necessary to ensure more deeply hidden threats are identified and fully eliminated.