{"id":7106,"date":"2025-01-28T15:32:44","date_gmt":"2025-01-28T21:32:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.darkreading.com\/cyberattacks-data-breaches\/phishing-campaign-malicious-amazon-pdfs"},"modified":"2025-01-28T15:32:44","modified_gmt":"2025-01-28T21:32:44","slug":"phishing-campaign-baits-hook-with-malicious-amazon-pdfs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ddi.mohflo.net\/index.php\/2025\/01\/28\/phishing-campaign-baits-hook-with-malicious-amazon-pdfs\/","title":{"rendered":"Phishing Campaign Baits Hook With Malicious Amazon PDFs"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"media_block\"><a href=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/eu-images.contentstack.com\/v3\/assets\/blt6d90778a997de1cd\/bltc4f3da137ae80d7d\/67993bec59f030094da7f4bf\/Amazon1800_Web_Pix_alamy.jpg?ssl=1\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ddi.mohflo.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/phishing-campaign-baits-hook-with-malicious-amazon-pdfs.jpg?w=640&#038;ssl=1\" class=\"media_thumbnail\"><\/a><\/div>\n<div><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ddi.mohflo.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/phishing-campaign-baits-hook-with-malicious-amazon-pdfs.jpg?w=640&#038;ssl=1\" class=\"ff-og-image-inserted\"><\/div>\n<p class=\"ContentParagraph ContentParagraph_align_left\" data-testid=\"content-paragraph\"><span class=\"ContentText ContentText_variant_bodyNormal\" data-testid=\"content-text\"><span class=\"ContentText-BodyTextChunk ContentText-BodyTextChunk_bold\">NEWS BRIEF<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"ContentParagraph ContentParagraph_align_left\" data-testid=\"content-paragraph\"><span class=\"ContentText ContentText_variant_bodyNormal\" data-testid=\"content-text\">Researchers are highlighting the rise of a new phishing tactic: a campaign that uses PDF documents to trick victims by announcing expired <\/span><span class=\"ContentText ContentText_variant_bodyNormal\" data-testid=\"content-text\"><a class=\"ContentText-BodyTextChunk ContentText-BodyTextChunk_link\" target=\"_self\" href=\"https:\/\/www.darkreading.com\/endpoint-security\/amazon-prime-day-cyber-scammers\">Amazon Prime memberships<\/a><\/span><span class=\"ContentText ContentText_variant_bodyNormal\" data-testid=\"content-text\">.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"ContentParagraph ContentParagraph_align_left\" data-testid=\"content-paragraph\"><span class=\"ContentText ContentText_variant_bodyNormal\" data-testid=\"content-text\">Users are targeted by email and, after clicking on the PDFs, are taken to pages that impersonate Amazon, where they are urged to input their personal details and credit card information.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"ContentParagraph ContentParagraph_align_left\" data-testid=\"content-paragraph\"><span class=\"ContentText ContentText_variant_bodyNormal\" data-testid=\"content-text\"><a class=\"ContentText-BodyTextChunk ContentText-BodyTextChunk_link\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/Unit42_Intel\/status\/1883948928602644785\">The researchers<\/a><\/span><span class=\"ContentText ContentText_variant_bodyNormal\" data-testid=\"content-text\"> at Palo Alto Networks Unit42 who discovered the campaign have collected 31 PDF files with links to these phishing sites, none of which had been submitted to VirusTotal.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"ContentParagraph ContentParagraph_align_left\" data-testid=\"content-paragraph\"><span class=\"ContentText ContentText_variant_bodyNormal\" data-testid=\"content-text\">The chain of events in the phishing attack begins with the email containing the PDF attachment. Once clicking on the link from the PDF, the victim is redirected from the initial URL to subdomains of duckdns[.]org that host the phishing website.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"ContentParagraph ContentParagraph_align_left\" data-testid=\"content-paragraph\"><span class=\"ContentText ContentText_variant_bodyNormal\" data-testid=\"content-text\">&#8220;These phishing websites use cloaking to redirect scans and other analysis attempts to benign domains,&#8221; <\/span><span class=\"ContentText ContentText_variant_bodyNormal\" data-testid=\"content-text\"><a class=\"ContentText-BodyTextChunk ContentText-BodyTextChunk_link\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/github.com\/PaloAltoNetworks\/Unit42-timely-threat-intel\/blob\/main\/2025-01-24-IOCs-for-phishing-campaign-impersonating-amazon.txt\">wrote the researchers<\/a><\/span><span class=\"ContentText ContentText_variant_bodyNormal\" data-testid=\"content-text\">. These domains for most of the initial and intermediate staging URLs are hosted on the same IP address.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"ContentParagraph ContentParagraph_align_left\" data-testid=\"content-paragraph\"><span class=\"ContentText ContentText_variant_bodyNormal\" data-testid=\"content-text\">There are four initial links used in the campaign that potential victims should be wary of:<\/span><\/p>\n<div data-component=\"basic-list\" class=\"BasicList BasicList_nestedLevel_0 BasicList_variant_unordered BasicList_limited\">\n<ul data-testid=\"basic-list-unordered\" class=\"BasicList-UnorderedList\">\n<li>\n<div class=\"BasicList-ListItem BasicList-ListItem_variant_unordered\" readability=\"6\"><span data-component=\"icon\" data-name=\"Circle\" class=\"BasicList-ListIcon BasicList-ListIcon_variant_unordered\"><\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"BasicList-Item\" readability=\"7\">\n<p class=\"ContentParagraph ContentParagraph_align_left\" data-testid=\"content-paragraph\"><span class=\"ContentText ContentText_variant_bodyNormal\" data-testid=\"content-text\">hxxps[:]\/\/redirjhmxnasmdhuewfmkxchbnvjxfasdfasd.duckdns[.]org\/XOZLaMh<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<div class=\"BasicList-ListItem BasicList-ListItem_variant_unordered\" readability=\"6\"><span data-component=\"icon\" data-name=\"Circle\" class=\"BasicList-ListIcon BasicList-ListIcon_variant_unordered\"><\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"BasicList-Item\" readability=\"7\">\n<p class=\"ContentParagraph ContentParagraph_align_left\" data-testid=\"content-paragraph\"><span class=\"ContentText ContentText_variant_bodyNormal\" data-testid=\"content-text\">hxxps[:]\/\/redixajcdkashdufzxcsfgfasd.duckdns[.]org\/CCq8SKn<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<div class=\"BasicList-ListItem BasicList-ListItem_variant_unordered\" readability=\"6\"><span data-component=\"icon\" data-name=\"Circle\" class=\"BasicList-ListIcon BasicList-ListIcon_variant_unordered\"><\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"BasicList-Item\" readability=\"7\">\n<p class=\"ContentParagraph ContentParagraph_align_left\" data-testid=\"content-paragraph\"><span class=\"ContentText ContentText_variant_bodyNormal\" data-testid=\"content-text\">hxxps[:]\/\/zmehiasdhg7uw.redirectme[.]net\/xn28lGa<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<div class=\"BasicList-ListItem BasicList-ListItem_variant_unordered\" readability=\"6\"><span data-component=\"icon\" data-name=\"Circle\" class=\"BasicList-ListIcon BasicList-ListIcon_variant_unordered\"><\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"BasicList-Item\" readability=\"7\">\n<p class=\"ContentParagraph ContentParagraph_align_left\" data-testid=\"content-paragraph\"><span class=\"ContentText ContentText_variant_bodyNormal\" data-testid=\"content-text\">hxxps[:]\/\/rediahxjasdusgasdzxcsdefwgasdgasdasdzxdz.duckdns[.]org\/agungggg1298w862847<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"ContentParagraph ContentParagraph_align_left\" data-testid=\"content-paragraph\"><span class=\"ContentText ContentText_variant_bodyNormal\" data-testid=\"content-text\">&#8220;The initial attack vector, where users are beguiled into opening an email attachment containing a PDF file, is a stark reminder of the importance of remaining vigilant of emails,&#8221; said Javvad Malik, lead security awareness advocate at&nbsp;KnowBe4, in an emailed statement to Dark Reading. &#8220;Emails still remain the most popular attack avenue for phishing, so it&#8217;s important that people have the right education and tools at their disposal to be able to effectively identify and report any suspicious activity.&#8221;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.darkreading.com\/cyberattacks-data-breaches\/phishing-campaign-malicious-amazon-pdfs\">Source<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>NEWS BRIEF Researchers are highlighting the rise of a new<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12,"featured_media":7107,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[809],"class_list":["post-7106","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-dark-reading"],"featured_image_urls":{"full":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ddi.mohflo.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/phishing-campaign-baits-hook-with-malicious-amazon-pdfs-scaled.jpg?fit=2560%2C1440&ssl=1",2560,1440,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ddi.mohflo.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/phishing-campaign-baits-hook-with-malicious-amazon-pdfs-scaled.jpg?resize=150%2C150&ssl=1",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ddi.mohflo.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/phishing-campaign-baits-hook-with-malicious-amazon-pdfs-scaled.jpg?fit=300%2C169&ssl=1",300,169,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ddi.mohflo.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/phishing-campaign-baits-hook-with-malicious-amazon-pdfs-scaled.jpg?fit=640%2C360&ssl=1",640,360,true],"large":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ddi.mohflo.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/phishing-campaign-baits-hook-with-malicious-amazon-pdfs-scaled.jpg?fit=640%2C360&ssl=1",640,360,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ddi.mohflo.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/phishing-campaign-baits-hook-with-malicious-amazon-pdfs-scaled.jpg?fit=1536%2C864&ssl=1",1536,864,true],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ddi.mohflo.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/phishing-campaign-baits-hook-with-malicious-amazon-pdfs-scaled.jpg?fit=2048%2C1152&ssl=1",2048,1152,true],"chromenews-featured":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ddi.mohflo.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/phishing-campaign-baits-hook-with-malicious-amazon-pdfs-scaled.jpg?fit=1024%2C576&ssl=1",1024,576,true],"chromenews-large":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ddi.mohflo.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/phishing-campaign-baits-hook-with-malicious-amazon-pdfs-scaled.jpg?resize=825%2C575&ssl=1",825,575,true],"chromenews-medium":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ddi.mohflo.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/phishing-campaign-baits-hook-with-malicious-amazon-pdfs-scaled.jpg?resize=590%2C410&ssl=1",590,410,true]},"author_info":{"display_name":"Dark Reading","author_link":"https:\/\/ddi.mohflo.net\/index.php\/author\/darkreading\/"},"category_info":"<a href=\"https:\/\/ddi.mohflo.net\/index.php\/category\/uncategorized\/\" rel=\"category tag\">Uncategorized<\/a>","tag_info":"Uncategorized","comment_count":"0","jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ddi.mohflo.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/phishing-campaign-baits-hook-with-malicious-amazon-pdfs-scaled.jpg?fit=2560%2C1440&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ddi.mohflo.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7106","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ddi.mohflo.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ddi.mohflo.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ddi.mohflo.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/12"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ddi.mohflo.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7106"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/ddi.mohflo.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7106\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ddi.mohflo.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7107"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ddi.mohflo.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7106"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ddi.mohflo.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7106"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ddi.mohflo.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7106"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}