The "voice recording" that's attached to the emails hides a piece of malware

May 6, 2014 12:32 GMT  ·  By

Cybercriminals keep coming up with new ways to trick Internet users into opening a malicious file attached to an email. Experts have spotted an email which informs recipients that they could go to prison.

The emails (full text is at the end of the post) purport to come from an “Agent Feather.” The messages don’t specify from which agency, but it appears to have something to do with law enforcement.

Recipients are told that they could spend at least five years behind bars for something they’ve allegedly done. The sender claims to have a voice recording in which the victim’s name is mentioned 11 times.

According to Dynamoo’s Blog, the file that’s attached to these emails is not a voice recording, but a piece of malware whose signature is currently detected by 15 of the 52 antivirus engines from VirusTotal. The threat appears to be a Trojan.

If you come across such emails in your inbox, don’t open the attachment. If you already have and your antivirus software hasn’t warned you about it, update your solution and run a full system scan.

Here’s what the email looks like:

"My Friend,

Someone close to you wants you to spend at least the next five years of your life behind bars. He has reported you to our organization and I am the one assigned to follow you up to gather more evidences against you.

Attached to this email is a copy of the person's audio recording against you. Your name was mentioned eleven times in this recorded conversation, check if you can recognise the person's voice.

What I require is that you create a new email address which will be used for our further correspondence. Use your mobile phone number to text me your newly created email address on this number: +66928711125.

The phone line is secured and cannot be traced by our organization or any other law enforcement agent. I know my reason for disclosing this important information to you at this time. Upon receiving your text, I will tell you who I am, our organization and what next you are to do.

You are to note the following and observe them, contrary to these, you will never hear from me again.

1. You are not to reply me on this email address. 2. You are not to call me on the above given number for any reason. 3. You are to text only your newly created email address to me. 4. The newly created email address must be used just for the both of us alone 4. If you know the voice in the recorded message, never approach the person until I tell you to. 5. You must not disclose anything relating to this information to another person.

Having read and understood what I have said, you are to now create a new email address and send it to me by text through your mobile phone number. I am waiting.

Yours sincerely, Agent Feather."