Users of Microsoft Corp. email services are being targeted by a new phishing scam that sends fake messages pretending to be from FedEx Corp. and DHL International GmbH.

Detailed today by security researchers from Armorblox Inc., the phishing attack is known to have targeted at least 10,000 Microsoft email users with fake links that, if followed, steal the victim’s credentials. The fake FedEx messages claim to have a document sent to the victim with the title “you have received FedEx files” while the DHL emails falsely claim that “your parcel has arrived.”

In the FedEx phishing campaign, the email contained some information about the fake document to make it seem legitimate, such as identification number, number of pages and the type of document. If users click on the provided link, they are taken to a file hosted on Quip, a tool for Salesforce Inc. that offers documents, spreadsheets and other services.

The Quip file then takes the victims to a final phishing page resembling the Microsoft login portal that appears to be hosted on Google LLC’s Firebase, further fooling the victim into thinking that the link is legitimate. Users who then enter their Microsoft credentials are presented with an error message asking the victim to enter their correct details, giving the hackers the login information.

The DHL phishing attack asks users to enter details on a fake page, but in this case it’s to obtain either Adobe credentials or the work email credentials of the user.

“There are few brands like FedEx, DHL and UPS that can quickly capture the attention of targets,” Chris Hazelton, director of security solutions at mobile security firm Lookout Inc., told SiliconANGLE. “With everyone stuck at home, many recipients are anticipating something they bought online being delivered to them. This includes business transactions where threat actors are mimicking delivery services to trick people into giving up credentials to their organization’s cloud services.”

Photo: Raimond Spekking/Wikimedia Commons