'Delayed payment confirmation caused by COVID-19' Email Virus

Countless cyber crooks are using the Coronavirus, also known as COVID-19, pandemic to propagate malware and create new online tactics to generate revenue of unsuspecting users. Among the newest spotted Coronavirus-based tactics is the ‘Delayed payment confirmation caused by COVID-19’ email con.

Users report receiving an email that claims to originate from the accounting branch of a company. In the message, the fraudsters claim that the user’s payment has been delayed due to the Coronavirus outbreak. The false message goes on to say that the problem has been taken care of and that the user’s payment has been processed. The email also urges the recipient to review more detailed information in the attached file named ‘Payment_SWIFT.doc.’ However, this is an ill-minded attachment whose goal is to deploy the GuLoader malware on the infected computer.

The GuLoader threat is a Trojan downloader. This means that once the GuLoader Trojan downloader is installed on the targeted system successfully, it would allow the operators of the ‘Delayed payment confirmation caused by COVID-19’ Email tactic to plant additional malware on the infected host. The GuLoader Trojan downloader can be used to deploy infostealers, banking Trojans, RATs (Remote Access Trojans), etc. This means that once the GuLoader Trojan has compromised your computer, it will be capable of infecting it with a large variety of threats that can endanger both the health of your system and the security of your data.

Ignore any emails that may be titled ‘Delayed payment confirmation caused by COVID-19’ as this is likely a tactic that can endanger your computer and your data’s safety. It is advisable to consider investing in a genuine anti-malware solution that will not allow you to fall victim to nasty malware like the GuLoader Trojan.