The Dridex malware gang is taking advantage of the Christmas holidays by sending phishing emails posing as Amazon gift cards. Dridex is an advanced and modular banking trojan that can perform various malicious activities, such as stealing login credentials , logging keystrokes, taking screenshots, and downloading/installing further malware. This is a particularly dangerous trojan, as it gives DoppelPaymer and BitPaymer hackers access to compromised networks to deploy their ransomware .
When distributing malware, hacking gangs often use timely moments as bait. In this case, they are exploiting the Christmas holidays, using them as themes in phishing campaignsto entice unsuspecting people to open malicious attachments contained in emails.
This phishing campaign was discovered by cybersecurity firm “Cybereason”and is presented as an Amazon gift card sent via email. This email is supposed to be a $100 gift certificate that a user must redeem by clicking a button embedded in the phishing email.
When someone clicks the button, they will unknowingly download malicious Word with names similar to “Amazon_Gift_Card,” “Order_Gift_Cart,” and “Amazon_eGift-Card.”
When the recipient opens the attachments, they will be prompted to click the “Enable Content” button. If the user does this, malicious macros will be executed, which will download and install the Dridex malware, and possibly other payloads, on computer .
With the holiday season underway and people celebrating while keeping their distance, Amazon gift cards are likely to be a common gift this season. However, it should be clarified that Amazon will never ask you to download a file to redeem a gift card. Instead, a legitimate email will contain a code that you redeem on the company's site to add the money to your account.
If you receive an email pretending to be a gift card and asking you to download and open Word documents, close it immediately. If you are still unsure if an eGift card is legitimate, contact the sender by phone, NOT email, and ask them if they are the one who sent you the gift.
