MailGuard 14 November 2022 17:06:22 AEDT 13 MIN READ

DHL Branded Phishing Email Asks for $6.99 Duty Payment

Reaching 220 countries across the world, DHL is one of the most popular logistics companies on the planet, making it an attractive target for impersonation by scammers. MailGuard is continuously blocking phishing emails which purport to be from DHL. If you’ve received a suspicious email, but it doesn’t exactly match what’s shown below, check out this scam from October, or this one from September 2022 

In this particular scam, DHL customers should be on the lookout for any emails with the subject line “Subject of the delivery of your package” and a sender name which shows “Express”. The display email address is “noreply(at)notify(dot)thnkific(dot)com”, however the ‘Reply to’ is “support(at)aidainternational(dot)org”, which may be a compromised website.  

Using DHL’s branding, the email warns the recipient’s “parcel could not be delivered on 10.11.2022 because no duty was paid”, and shows the owing amount is $6.99. The email directs the user to click on a button to “confirm sending shipment”.  

Here's an example of the email: 

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At first, the user is met with a captcha check, which is a tool used by the scammer to stop automated checks.  

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Then, after entering the captcha, the recipient is taken through to a DHL branded phishing page which initially appears to go to a compromised website for an Indian hypnotherapy business, and then redirects to a domain that uses No-IPs dynamic DNS service, which is currently pointing to a Moroccan IP.  

Once again, the customer is told that they owe $6.99 and are instructed to pay by entering their:  

  • Credit card number 
  • CVV 
  • Expiry date (Month/Year)  

To make the page more believable, the scammers have included instructions underneath the payment screen, which recommends the user takes note of their order number, explains the payment process, and even refers to “consumption rights”.  

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After entering credit card information to make a payment, the victim is asked to enter details to confirm the information for the “delivery”, including:  

  • First name 
  • Last name 
  • Address 
  • Phone number 
  • Zip code 
  • Date of birthday 

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The victim is then shown a loading screen which requests that they do not close the window.  

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In order to confirm the payment, the victim is asked to enter their unique password that has been sent to their mobile. One-time password screens are commonly used when processing legitimate payments, so many individuals would not think twice when faced with this screen, however they’re also often used in phishing scams so that the cybercriminal is able to verify a credit card.   

image 6-2 Finally, the victim is met with an error which claims that the “SMS is wrong or expired” and warns that after 3 incorrect attempts, their card will be blocked.  

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DHL offers the following advice about fraudulent emails:  

Below are some indicators that can help you assess whether the received email is fraudulent. 

  • Official DHL communication is always sent from @dhl.com, @dpdhl.com, @dhl.de, @dhl.fr or another country domain after @dhl. 
  • We never use @gmail, @yahoo or other free email services to send emails. 
  • We never link to a website other than our own starting with for example https://dhl.com/, https://dpdhl.com/, or a country/campaign website 

MailGuard advises all recipients of this email to delete it immediately without clicking on any links. Providing your personal details can result in your sensitive information being used for criminal activity and may have a severe negative impact on your business and its’ financial well-being.     

MailGuard urges users not to click links or open attachments within emails that:       

  • Are not addressed to you by name.       
  • Appear to be from a legitimate company but use poor English or omits personal details that a legitimate sender would include.       
  • Are from businesses that you were not expecting to hear from, and/or       
  • Take you to a landing page or website that is not the legitimate URL of the company the email is purporting to be sent from.      

Many businesses turn to MailGuard after an incident or a near miss, often as a result of an email similar to the one shown above. If unwanted emails are a problem for your business, don’t wait until it’s too late.  

Reach out to our team for a confidential discussion by emailing expert@mailguard.com.au or calling 1300 30 44 30.

One email is all that it takes     

All that it takes to devastate your business is a cleverly worded email message that can steal sensitive user credentials or disrupt your business operations. If scammers can trick one person in your company into clicking on a malicious link or attachment, they can gain access to your data or inflict damage on your business.     

For a few dollars per staff member per month, you can protect your business with MailGuard's predictive and advanced email security. Talk to a solution consultant at MailGuard today about securing your company's inboxes.  

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