What is the "You Have Received A Tax Invoice" email scam

What kind of email is "You Have Received A Tax Invoice"?

We have examined this email and determined it is a phishing scam. The message is disguised as a tax invoice notification from an accounting system, tricking recipients into clicking a button that leads to a fake webmail login page. Anyone who enters their credentials there hands them directly to the scammers.

"You Have Received A Tax Invoice" email scam overview

The email arrives with the subject line "Invoice INV0008128" and claims the recipient has received a tax invoice. It urges the reader to click a "View Document" button to access it online. The message is signed as coming from an accounts department, giving it the look of a routine business notification.

Clicking the button opens a page hosted on Google's Firebase Storage infrastructure that displays a fake "Welcome to Webmail" login prompt. The page presents username and password fields, with the recipient's email address sometimes pre-filled to make it seem more credible.

The purpose of this fake page is to steal email account credentials. If a visitor enters their login details, that information is sent directly to the cybercriminals behind the campaign. Email account access is particularly valuable to scammers since it can be used to reset passwords on linked services and gain entry to other accounts.

Hosting the phishing page on a legitimate Google service is intentional. It makes the link harder for spam filters to flag and appears less suspicious at a glance. Google has no connection to this scam - its infrastructure is being abused without authorization.

Similar scam emails in general

In conclusion, this email is a phishing scam disguised as a routine accounting notification. Its goal is to steal email login credentials by directing recipients to a fraudulent webmail page. The message should be deleted without clicking anything. Sometimes, scams like this are also used to distribute malware.

More examples of similar scam emails are QuickBooks - Payment Overdue, Messages Failure Notifications, and Security Review Requested.

How do spam campaigns infect computers?

Cybercriminals frequently attach malicious files to emails as a way of spreading malware. Common file types include executables, Office documents, ZIP and RAR archives, PDFs, and scripts. Opening these files - or enabling features like malicious macro commands in Office documents - can trigger a silent download or installation.

Links to malicious websites are another common delivery method. Visiting such a page may trigger an automatic download, or the site may prompt the user to fetch and run a harmful file manually. Either way, some form of user interaction is typically required before the device is compromised.

How to avoid installation of malware?

Treat any email from an unknown or unexpected sender with caution, especially if it contains attachments or asks you to click a link. If an email claims to be from a business but was not requested, verify its legitimacy through the company's official website rather than through any link in the message.

Only download software from official sources such as developer websites and verified app stores. Avoid torrent sites, software cracks, and key generators, as these frequently bundle malware with otherwise legitimate-looking files. Keeping your operating system and applications updated also reduces exposure to known vulnerabilities.

Use reputable security software and keep it active at all times. Do not grant notification permissions to websites you are unfamiliar with. If you suspect you have already opened a malicious file, run a scan with Combo Cleaner Antivirus for Windows to detect and remove any malware.

Text presented in the "You Have Received A Tax Invoice" email letter:

Subject: Invoice INV0008128

You have received a Tax Invoice

for ********

To view your invoice online, please use Email access

[View Document]

Dear ********

Please find attached Invoice INV0008128.

Please contact me should you have any queries.

Regards
Antoinette Maree
Accounts

Generated by Accounting

A fake webmail login page used in this scam:

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Quick menu:

• What is You Have Received A Tax 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?

Scam emails are not personally targeted. Cybercriminals distribute them to large numbers of recipients at once, collecting email addresses through data breaches, fake websites, and similar methods.

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

If you entered your credentials on the fake login page, change your email password immediately. Update passwords on any other accounts that use the same login details. Contact your email provider's support and consider enabling two-factor authentication.

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

The risk depends on what type of file was opened. Executable files can infect a device as soon as they run. Documents such as Word files or PDFs generally require additional interaction, like enabling macros or running an embedded installer, before any damage occurs.

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

No. Simply opening or reading an email does not result in infection. A device can only be compromised if the user actively clicks a link, opens an attachment, or otherwise interacts with malicious content inside the message.

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

Yes. Combo Cleaner can detect and remove most known malware infections. Running a full system scan is recommended to ensure that any threats, including those hiding in less obvious locations, are found and eliminated.