Fake Vodafone Bill Emails Contain Malware

Inboxes are currently being hammered by ‘bill’ emails purporting to be from mobile phone service provider Vodafone. The brief messages, which are signed by ‘Your Vodafone Team’, contain an invoice number and issue date for a current bill and ask that you pay the bill by a specified date.

The emails include an attached.zip file that supposedly contains the invoice.

However, Vodafone certainly did not send these emails and the attachment does not contain a phone bill. Instead, the attached.zip file contains a trojan that, once opened, can install further malware on the infected computer.

The malware installed by the trojan may steal personal information such as passwords from the infected computer and send it to cybercriminals. It may also allow criminals to take control of the compromised computer and join it to a botnet.

Details such as the supposed payment date and invoice number may vary in different versions of the malware emails.

Fake bill or invoice notifications that pretend to be from various well-known companies are a very common method of distributing malware. Be wary of any unsolicited email that claims that you must pay or review an invoice by clicking a link or opening an attached file.