The good news is due to Microsoft’s default blocking of macros, users are now less inclined to enable them, which reduces the likelihood of them becoming infected by malicious Word documents. MalwarebytesĮmotet malware operations frequently come out with targeted phishing campaigns that coincide with the holiday season and annual business events, such as the ongoing U.S. In fact, a file size of 500MB is a potential indicator that Emotet is lurking in the background. You won’t find many genuine Word documents weighing in at 500MB or more.

The Senior Director of Threat Intelligence at Malwarebytes, Jerome Segura uncovered an email sent by the “IRS Online Center,” with an attachment the size of more than 500MB, marked as “IRS Tax Forms W-9.”

Since Form W-9 requires personal information such as Name, address, and Tax Identification Number, this particular poses a major threat to US citizens.įirst reported by Malwarebytes, the Form W-9 is “being used to lure people to download something sinister.” The campaign involves impersonating W-9 tax forms that appear to have been sent by the Internal Revenue Service or one’s employer. US taxpayers are being cautioned by security experts regarding a recent phishing campaign that involves Emotet.

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