The email message below: "Someone you’re acquainted with has just sent you a photo," which claims that someone you're acquainted with has just sent you a picture in WhatsApp, and you should open the attachment to look it up, has a virus attached to it. This email message was not sent by WhatsApp, but by cybercriminals, whose intention is to trick the recipients into opening the malicious attachment, which will infect their computers with a virus or Trojan.
The Malicious Email: Someone you’re acquainted with has just sent you a photo
Subject: Someone you’re acquainted with has just sent you a photo
Attachment: images782.zip
Hello!
Someone you’re acquainted with has just sent you a picture in WhatsApp. Open attachments to look it up.
This email attachment, " images782.zip ", contains the virus file " images782.exe". This is the file that will infect your computer if you open it. This file name may change.
Very importantly, the attachment looks like a Microsoft Word, which will trick a lot of persons into clicking on it.
So, because the file looks like a Microsoft Word document, it doesn’t mean that it is.
When we scanned this file, the following threats were detected:
- Worm/Win32.Gamarue
- Win32/Kryptik.BTFG
- Trojan.Zbot.MAI
- Artemis!DCB793435105
Once your computer has become infected with this malicious Trojan horse, cybercriminals behind this email message will be able to access and take control of your computer remotely from anywhere around the world. They may spy on you, use your computer to commit cybercrimes, or steal your personal and financial information.
Now, if you have already opened the malicious “images782.exe”, please do a full scan of your computer with the antivirus software installed on it.
If you don’t have antivirus software installed on your computer, please click here for a list of free antivirus software.
Never open an attachment that has a name ending with “.exe”, because these are computer programs that can infect your computer with a virus or some other malware.
For a list of email attachments that you should not open, please click here.