Holy Cow, I Avoided a Malware Attack Today!

Using a Top Tier Email Provider Saved My Butt

Scroll, scroll, what the hell? Who in blazes is that promising me a refund?

Like many people, I spent considerable time and funds Holiday shopping online in December. My Spam email box is chock full of merchant promotions offering me deals that don't interest me. A refund? That gets my attention (red flag #1).

Subject: Re: Refund-January 11, 2025

I open the message and I see an Amazon logo in the message body. It has the Amazon orange and black colors, but the text does not look right: there is a strange space prior to the ".com" so it reads as "Amazon .com" (red flag #2)

I look at who sent me the message. Is it someone I recall doing business with? Nope! (red flag #3)

From: williamrhyne4321@gmail.com

I look at the body of the message and see a "Thank you for your purchase" message with what appears to be an invoice for a laptop that I bought TODAY! I'm on the couch watching an NFL Wildcard game, not shopping for a laptop! (red flag #4). Did my credit card get stolen and was it used to buy a laptop? Why are they offering me a refund in the Subject line?

I see there is a message attachment, maybe there is more information in at attached invoice. I hover my mouse over the "invoice" and discover it's a file named "7314101861579032.jpg", an image file.(red flag #5)

I know from experience and daily news reports that clicking on attachments, especially image files, can initiate an attack on my computer. Here are a few ways attachments can lead to a data breach or other attack:

1. Embedded Malware: Cybercriminals can embed malicious code within a JPG file. When the file is opened, the malware can execute and compromise the system.

2. Phishing: The email containing the JPG attachment might be part of a phishing campaign. The attachment could be designed to look like a legitimate image, but clicking on it might redirect the user to a malicious website.

3. Exploiting Vulnerabilities: Some JPG files can exploit vulnerabilities in the software used to open them. This can allow attackers to gain unauthorized access to the system.

4. Steganography: This technique involves hiding malicious code within the image data itself. The code can be extracted and executed by the attacker once the image is opened.

At this point, I've noted 5 red flags about this message. Google has justifiably classified this message as Spam. I decide to not open the attachment and delete the message forever.

I believe it is a good practice to check my Spam folder for messages that I may have missed from people I know or businesses that I care about. I looks like I dodged a bullet today. Please take extra care with your email. Look for red flags and contents that are too good to be true or don't look quite right. You could save yourself from data loss and financial theft.