What is the "Trip.com Booking Confirmation" email virus

What is the "Trip.com Booking Confirmation" email?

We have inspected this email and determined that it is malspam. It is disguised as a message from a hotel guest asking about a room upgrade tied to a Trip.com booking, but its real purpose is to trick the recipient into downloading a malicious file. It should be ignored and deleted.

"Trip.com Booking Confirmation" email virus overview

The email is written as though sent by a genuine hotel guest named "Adam Carter," who claims that he and his partner have a stay booked for February 2027 and asks whether an evening meal or a half-board upgrade can be added to their reservation made through Trip.com.

This is a common lure used against hotels, guesthouses, and property managers, who regularly receive booking-related messages and are less likely to question one that references a familiar travel platform. Trip.com is a real online travel agency, but it has no connection to this email. Cybercriminals invoke its name only to make the message look like an authentic guest inquiry.

The message includes what looks like an attached file named "Booking Confirmation.JPEGr," shown with a file size and an archive-style icon next to a "Download" link. The unusual "JPEGr" extension is meant to resemble a harmless image file at a glance. Despite its appearance, this is not a real attachment.

Both the file name/icon and the screenshot of a booking confirmation embedded inside the email body work as clickable links. Clicking either one downloads a JavaScript file. Scripts like this can run code as soon as they are opened and, in campaigns such as this one, are typically used to fetch and install further malware without additional input from the victim.

The exact malware distributed through this file has not been confirmed. It could be a stealer, backdoor, downloader, ransomware, or another type of malicious program. Interacting with the file can lead to data theft, financial loss, or a fully compromised device, so no linked content in this email should be opened.

Malspam campaign examples

This email is a fake booking-related inquiry that impersonates a hotel guest and references Trip.com to appear legitimate. Both the fake attachment icon and the embedded image inside the message are links that lead to a malicious JavaScript file. Opening it can result in the silent installation of malware, so the email should be deleted without interacting with any of its contents.

Examples of similar malspam are Insoorya Express Cargo Shipment Documents, Finance Department Secure Document, and Your Cheque Is Ready.

How do spam campaigns infect computers?

Malware is often spread through email using malicious attachments or links disguised as something harmless, such as invoices, shipping notices, or, as in this case, a hotel booking confirmation. Attachments can appear as documents, images, or archives, while links redirect to pages that push a file download automatically.

Files delivered this way, especially scripts or executables, can run as soon as they are opened, without further action from the user. Document-based attachments usually need an extra step, such as enabling editing or macro commands, before an infection actually begins.

How to avoid installation of malware?

Treat unsolicited emails with caution, especially ones that include unexpected attachments or ask you to download a file to view more information. Verify unusual requests through a separate, trusted channel before opening anything sent by email.

Keep the operating system and installed software up to date, download programs only from official sources, and avoid pirated software or key generators, as these are also common ways malware spreads outside of email.

If you have already opened malicious attachments, we recommend running a scan with Combo Cleaner Antivirus for Windows to automatically eliminate infiltrated malware.

Text presented in the "Trip.com Booking Confirmation" email letter:

Subject: Room Upgrades

Good morning,

My partner and I are coming to stay with you in February 2027 which were really looking forward too!

Could you confirm if there is an option to add an evening meal to our booking on Trip.com / upgrade to half board and room, please?

[Booking Confirmation.JPEGr (47.0MB)]
[Download]

Look forward to hearing from you.

Thanks

Adam Carter

Sent from Outlook for Android

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:

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Quick menu:

• What is Trip.com Booking Confirmation malspam?
• 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 send the same message to a large number of people, hoping some recipients will believe it is a genuine guest inquiry. These emails are not personalized and are typically sent using addresses obtained through data breaches or scraped from public sources.

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

Change the passwords of any accounts whose credentials may have been exposed, and do this on a different, uninfected device if possible. If financial information was shared, contact your bank immediately.

I have downloaded and opened a file promoted by this email, is my computer infected?

Whether an infection occurred depends on what was opened. Script files such as .js can run as soon as they are opened, while document formats often require an extra action, like enabling editing, before anything happens. Since this email delivers a script file, opening it is enough to trigger an infection.

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

No. Simply reading a spam email does not infect a device. Infection only begins once the attached file or a link inside the message is opened or clicked.

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

Combo Cleaner can detect and remove most known malware infections, though some advanced threats can remain hidden deep within the system. Running a full system scan is recommended to catch concealed or particularly sophisticated malicious software.