PDF Phishing campaign uses Google Docs to steal victim’s Email credentials

PDF Phishing campaign uses Google Docs to steal victim's Email credentials

PDF Phishing campaign uses Google Docs to steal victim's Email credentials

SonicWall Capture Labs Threats Research team has discovered an ongoing phishing campaign which abuses genuine web-based software office suite platform like google docs. Upon opening the PDF file, a blurred image with instructions on how to view the document is displayed to the user:

PDF Phishing

If the instructions as mentioned in the PDF file are followed, an HTML file is downloaded without user intervention from Google Docs URL as shown below:

Google Docs

When the downloaded HTML file is opened, the user is shown a genuine looking webpage with options to select email providers like Yahoo, Google, Outlook, Office etc to view the document:

PDF Phishing

Depending upon the email provider chosen by the user, one of the following form would be displayed:

Google Docs

Upon entering the user credentials and clicking the sign-in button the user is displayed a clean PDF file downloaded from remote server to appear legitimate:

PDF Phishing

However in the background the malware author steals user credentials when the sign-in button is clicked and sends them to remote web server “hxxps://webpersonaltrainer[.]top” as shown below:

Google Docs

These PDF files are not detected by any vendor when checked on top threat intelligence sharing portals like virus total:

PDF Phishing

SonicWall Capture Labs provides protection against this threat via the following signature:

  • GAV: Downloader.FR (Trojan)
  • GAV: Downloader.PD_18 (Trojan)

** Optrics Inc. is an Registered SonicWall partner


The original article can be found here:

https://securitynews.sonicwall.com/xmlpost/pdf-phishing-campaign-using-google-docs/

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