Summary:
Researchers have identified a rise in sophisticated phishing and malspam campaigns employing email spoofing, neglected domains, and social engineering to bypass traditional security measures. Threat actors are increasingly spoofing sender email addresses to make their messages appear legitimate and evade detection. By exploiting old, neglected domains without DNS records such as Sender Policy Framework, these actors can circumvent domain authentication safeguards like DomainKeys Identified Mail and Domain-based Message Authentication, Reporting, and Conformance . These domains are often short, associated with reputable top-level domains, and lack the typical DNS records used to verify authenticity, allowing malicious emails to pass through security filters unnoticed.


One campaign, active since December 2022, involves emails containing QR code attachments designed to lead recipients to phishing sites. These emails, written in Mandarin with tax-related themes, encourage recipients to scan QR codes using apps like AliPay or WeChat. To add credibility, the QR code documents are protected with four-digit passwords included in the email body. The phishing sites prompt users to enter sensitive identification and payment details, which are then exploited by the attackers. This campaign, associated with the threat actor "Muddling Meerkat," also leverages abandoned domains and even nonexistent ones to avoid repeated detection from the same sender address.


Security Officer Comments:
Threat actors have also impersonated major brands C to redirect victims to credential harvesting sites. Using traffic distribution systems, these campaigns aim to trick users into entering sensitive information on fake login pages. Extortion scams have also been observed, in which recipients are threatened with exposure of fabricated compromising videos unless they pay a Bitcoin ransom. These emails are further obfuscated by spoofing the recipient's own email address to lend credibility to the threat.


Suggested Corrections:
Users should always be cautious of individuals or organizations that ask for personal information. Most companies will not ask for sensitive data from their customers. If in doubt, users should verify with the company itself to avoid any potential issues.


Users should always take a close look at the sender’s display name when checking the legitimacy of an email. Most companies use a single domain for their URLs and emails, so a message that originates from a different domain is a red flag.


As a general rule, users should not click links or download files even if they come from seemingly “trustworthy” sources.


Check for mismatched URLs. While an embedded URL might seem perfectly valid, hovering above it might show a different web address. In fact, users should avoid clicking links in emails unless they are certain that it is a legitimate link.


Users should always be on the lookout for any grammatical errors and spelling mistakes. Legitimate companies will often employ proofreaders and editors who ensure that the materials they send out are error-free.


Users should not be frightened or intimidated by messages that have an alarmist tone. They should double check with the company if they are uncertain about the status of their accounts.


Phishing emails are designed to be sent to a large number of people, so they need to be as impersonal as possible. Users should check whether the message contains a generic subject and greeting, as this can be a sign of a phishing attempt.


Although not every end user has access to advanced anti-phishing software, they can still use the built-in protection of their email clients to filter messages. One example is setting the email client to block all images unless approved.


Legitimate companies will never send confirmation emails unless there are specific reasons for doing so. In fact, most companies will avoid sending unsolicited messages unless it’s for company updates, newsletters, or advertising purposes.


Users should always take the context of an email or message into account. For example, most online accounts do away with viewable member numbers, so users should be wary if they receive emails containing a “member number” for services that generally don’t use them.


It is important to take note of unusual information in the text of the message. Any mentions of operating systems and software that are not typically used by consumers can often be indicators of a phishing attempt.

If it seems suspicious, it probably is. Users should always err on the side of caution when it comes to sending out personally identifiable information through messages and emails.


Link(s):
https://thehackernews.com/2025/01/neglected-domains-used-in-malspam-to.html