According to this email, you have received a new fax. The email implies that printing company Epson sent the fax. Supposedly, you can view the fax by opening an attached .pdf.
However, the attachment is not a .pdf. Instead, it is a .zip file that contains a .scr file. Clicking the .scr file can install malware on the user’s computer.
The exact purpose of the malware may vary in different incarnations of the scam. Typically, however, the malware may collect personal information from the compromised computer and connect to servers operated by online criminals. It may also download and install even more malware.
Criminals regularly use bogus fax notification emails as a means of distributing malware. Be wary of any unsolicited email that claims that you can view a fax by clicking a link or opening an attached file.
Example
Subject: You have received a new fax
From: INTERNAL FAX
You have received fax from EPSON05217208 at [email address removed]
Scan date: Mon, 1 Dec 2014 15:01:19 -0500
Number of page(s): 99
Resolution: 400×400 DPI
Name: fax28173112.pdf
Attached file is scanned image in PDF format
Importance Notice
After considerable thought and with an ache in my heart, I have decided that the time has come to close down the Hoax-Slayer website.These days, the site does not generate enough revenue to cover expenses, and I do not have the financial resources to sustain it going forward.
Moreover, I now work long hours in a full-time and physically taxing job, so maintaining and managing the website and publishing new material has become difficult for me.
And finally, after 18 years of writing about scams and hoaxes, I feel that it is time for me to take my fingers off the keyboard and focus on other projects and pastimes.
When I first started Hoax-Slayer, I never dreamed that I would still be working on the project all these years later or that it would become such an important part of my life. It's been a fantastic and engaging experience and one that I will always treasure.
I hope that my work over the years has helped to make the Internet a little safer and thwarted the activities of at least a few scammers and malicious pranksters.
A Big Thank You
I would also like to thank all of those wonderful people who have supported the project by sharing information from the site, contributing examples of scams and hoaxes, offering suggestions, donating funds, or helping behind the scenes.I would especially like to thank David White for his tireless contribution to the Hoax-Slayer Facebook Page over many years. David's support has been invaluable, and I can not thank him enough.
Closing Date
Hoax-Slayer will still be around for a few weeks while I wind things down. The site will go offline on May 31, 2021. While I will not be publishing any new posts, you can still access existing material on the site until the date of closure.Thank you, one and all!
Brett Christensen,
Hoax-Slayer
