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SANS ISC InfoSec Forums

I spotted this interesting phishing campaign that (ab)uses the McAfee antivirus to make people scared. It starts with a classic email that notifies the targeted user that a McAfee subscription expired:

The mail is not very well designed but it attracts the victim because it uses classic social engineering techniques:

• The fear: there is an issue with the antivirus product
• The interest: a huge discount is offered (80%)
• The pressure: this is a limited offer in time (only today). Note that the phisher did not change the discount expiration date (March 14, 2021).

When the victim clicks on the "Buy now" link, the following URL is reached: 

hxxps://r-trk[.]loumous[.]com/ga/click/2-51298608-3418-77390-152728-118643-69c53876cd-1807191af3

This website simulated an antivirus scan and, of course, the computer is infected by multiple malware! If the email is very simple, the fake scan is pretty well designed. I recorded a quick video to show it to you[1]:

I was late to get access to the next stage, it was already removed. We can presume that the attackers were trying to collect credentials and/or billing details.

[1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=44XAIh2ri54

Xavier Mertens (@xme)
Xameco
Senior ISC Handler - Freelance Cyber Security Consultant
PGP Key