Please find attached Invoice No. < random number> pretending to come from [email protected] is another one from the current zbot runs which try to drop cryptolocker, ransomware and loads of other malware on your computer. They are using email addresses and subjects that will entice a user to read the email and open the attachment. A very high proportion are being targeted at small and medium size businesses, with the hope of getting a better response than they do from consumers.
These emails are not being sent from eel.co.uk or edmundson-electrical.co.uk, As far as we can determine they have not been hacked or their website or email system compromised. The bad guys have just decided to use Edmundson Electrical Ltd as a way to persuade you to open the attachment and become infected. It is a follow on campaign from this Broadoak toiletries attack Once again this email template has several different sized malwares attached to it and it appears random which version you get.
Almost all of these have a password stealing component, with the aim of stealing your email or FTP ( web space) log in credentials. Many of them are also designed to specifically steal your facebook and other social network log in details.
Please read our How to protect yourselves page for simple, sensible advice on how to avoid being infected by this sort of socially engineered malware.
Email looks like:
WALSALL
MAHON RD IND EST. PORTADOWN
CO. ARMAGH BT62 3EH
T:028 3833 5316
F:028 3833 8453
____________________________________________________________________________
Please find attached Invoice No. 3036 – 8340637
Best Regards,
Branch Manager
Registered Office: PO Box 1 Knutsford Cheshire WA16 6AY Registered in London 2667012
This message is intended only for the individual or entity to which it is addressed and may contain information that is private and confidential. If you are not the intended recipient, you are hereby notified that any dissemination, distribution or copying of this communication and its attachments is strictly prohibited. If you have received this communication and its attachments in error, please advise us.
Our terms and conditions apply to this document and are available at www.edmundson-electrical.co.uk/terms
Email generated [25/08/14 05:36:]
25 August 2014: 3036 – 8340637.zip (44kb): Extracts to Invoice 372 – 667911.exe Current Virus total detections: 2/55
25 August 2014: 0463 – 485325.zip (47kb): Extracts to Invoice 829 – 991882.exe Current Virus total detections: 2/51
This is another one of the spoofed icon files that unless you have “show known file extensions enabled“, will look like a proper PDF file instead of the .exe file it really is, so making it much more likely for you to accidentally open it and be infected.
All of these emails use Social engineering tricks to persuade you to open the attachments that come with the email. Whether it is a message saying “look at this picture of me I took last night” and it appears to come from a friend or is more targeted at somebody who regularly is likely to receive PDF attachments or Word .doc attachments or any other common file that you use every day. Be very careful when unzipping them and make sure you have “show known file extensions enabled“, And then look carefully at the unzipped file. If it says .EXE then it is a problem and should not be run or opened.