Kaspersky describes how to prevent email fraud and how it has evolved over time
In 2024, Kaspersky researchers discovered over 414,000 email scams referred to as "Nigerian scams." Messages with alluring financial promises are sent in these scams in an attempt to persuade victims to reply to emails that will later be used to defraud them. Scammers have recently been posing as wealthy businessmen who say they are interested in investing and as members of the Illuminati, a covert group with Enlightenment origins.
Nigerian Email Scams:
These scams are a form of advance payment fraud, where scammers promise victims large sums of money, attractive investment opportunities, or exclusive benefits, but demand an advance payment that they often claim is a closing fee, legal costs, or travel expenses.
The original “Nigerian” scams were sent in the names of influential and wealthy Nigerians, hence the name. Over time, these scams have evolved, with cybercriminals exploiting current events and trending topics to grab the attention of their victims.
The pre-payment scams uncovered by Kaspersky in 2024 included both classic examples of phishing, such as messages from wealthy people claiming to be sick, as well as more unconventional methods.
Some scams were elaborate; for example, they might involve offers to befriend the victim and the scammer, where they would meet and communicate online, but when the victim was ready to meet the person, the scammer would tell them that they needed financial help because they couldn’t afford a plane ticket or visa.
In a different scenario, the scammer claims to want to send a valuable gift to the victim but asks the victim to cover the shipping costs because they cannot afford to send it through the mail.
An unusual example is a scam email purporting to be from the Illuminati secret society, in which the scammers claim they are willing to share their wealth and power if the recipient agrees to join them.
Kaspersky also uncovered another scam. One email purported to be from a European lottery manager but was pretty much empty. Details of the “win” were included in an attached PDF file, and the user was asked to enter their name, address, phone number, and even their job title to claim the prize.
Some of the scams discovered also reference recent or ongoing events, such as the COVID-19 pandemic or Saudi Arabia’s potential entry into the BRICS group, and claim that recipients are entitled to receive money as a result of those developments. Scammers have also exploited events related to the United States in 2024. Such as the presidential election, they claim that recipients of these messages will win millions of dollars from the Donald Trump Foundation.
In other cases, to boost the credibility of their emails, scammers have attached images of documents that supposedly prove the sender's identity.
While most prepaid fee scams target individuals, a similar scam has been seen in the business-to-business sector. Cybercriminals claim to be looking for companies to invest in, implying that the recipient’s company is a potential investment target. To set up a “partnership,” they ask the recipient to respond to the email.
"One of the most varied types of online fraud, the so-called 'Nigerian' scam has been around for years.
Fraudsters can impersonate real or fictitious people, such as bankers, lawyers, executives, or even high-ranking officials, and come up with elaborate stories to manipulate their victims.
These scams do not rely on malicious links or attachments, as is the case with some email cyberattacks; instead, they rely entirely on social engineering, where long-term conversations are conducted to build trust and legitimacy.
What makes these scams so dangerous is their flexibility.
Fraudsters are constantly evolving them, exploiting global events and trending news to lend credibility to their claims. We can expect these scams to evolve in the future, becoming even more sophisticated and potentially even more difficult to detect. This underscores the need to raise awareness and develop digital literacy to recognize and counter these manipulative tactics,” said Anna Lazarisheva, Kaspersky’s spam analyst.
What do you do to protect yourself from scam messages?
To protect yourself from email scams, follow these recommendations:
- Be wary of emails that purport to be from known people. It is best to never respond to emails from untrusted senders.
- If for some reason you cannot avoid communicating with an unknown person, check the credibility of the information provided before responding, paying attention to inconsistencies, grammatical errors, the fact that the reply address is different from the sender's address, or if you see a different address in the body of the email, as this may indicate a possible scam.
- If you receive a message from someone you know, but the content of the message seems strange, it is best to contact the sender via an alternative means of communication to verify that they are the real sender of the message.
- Use some tried and trusted security solutions when browsing the web; these can identify and block spam and phishing campaigns.