Emails that claim that an attached document ‘was scanned and sent to you using a Xerox WorkCentre Pro’ are currently hitting Inboxes.
The emails also include information supposedly outlining the contents and type of attachment and the device that created it. The messages claim that the attached .zip file contains a PDF.
However, the .zip file attachment actually contains malware. The exact type of malware may vary in different incarnations of the fake messages. The malware may secretly connect to a remote server, download further malware components, and add the compromised computer to a botnet.
The technical-sounding information included in the malware emails is apparently intended to fool recipients into believing that the attachment is a legitimate document. Of course, the bogus messages have no connection to Xerox or its products. The spammers responsible for the attack have apparently copied the typical email template used by Xerox WorkCentre Pro scanners for use in their malware emails.
Versions of these malware emails have been distributed for several years. If you receive one of these fake Xerox emails, do not open any attachments or click any links that it contains.
Example
Scanned Image from a Xerox WorkCentre
Please open the attached document. It was scanned and sent to you using a Xerox WorkCentre Pro.
Sent by: [email address removed]
Number of Images: 6
Attachment File Type: ZIP [PDF]
File Name: Scan001_9786729_028.zip
WorkCentre Pro Location: Machine location not set
Device Name: [Removed]
Attached file is scanned image in PDF format.
Adobe(R)Reader(R) can be downloaded from the following URL: http://www.adobe.com/
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
