DHL tracking number emails contain malware

Graham Cluley
Graham Cluley
@

 @grahamcluley.com
 / grahamcluley

Once again the bad guys are hard at work, spamming out dangerous emails. This morning it’s emails which claim to come from DHL, saying they were not able to deliver a postal package you sent on 14th of March because the recipient’s address was incorrect.

DHL delivery malicious email

Of course, the emails are not really from DHL.

If you open the file inside the attachment (called DHL_DOC.zip) you will be infected by the Troj/Bckdr-QSL backdoor Trojan horse, which will attempt to take control of your PC.

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The emails we are seeing in our spam traps all use the subject line “DHL Tracking number” but have a randomly generated reference number.

Some subject lines used in the fake DHL email malware campaign

As always, be very very suspicious of unsolicited email attachments and make sure that your anti-virus software is properly updated.


Graham Cluley is an award-winning keynote speaker who has given presentations around the world about cybersecurity, hackers, and online privacy. A veteran of the computer security industry since the early 1990s, he wrote the first ever version of Dr Solomon's Anti-Virus Toolkit for Windows, makes regular media appearances, and hosts the popular "Smashing Security" podcast. Follow him on LinkedIn, Bluesky and Mastodon, or drop him an email.

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