• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to footer

Cisco Umbrella

Enterprise network security

  • Contact Sales
  • Login
    • Umbrella Login
    • Cloudlock Login
  • Why Us
    • Why Cisco Umbrella
      • Why Try Umbrella
      • Why DNS Security
      • Why Umbrella SASE
      • Our Customers
      • Customer Stories
      • Why Cisco Secure
    • Fast Reliable Cloud
      • Global Cloud Architecture
      • Cloud Network Status
      • Global Cloud Network Activity
    • Unmatched Intelligence
      • A New Approach to Cybersecurity
      • Interactive Intelligence
      • Cyber Attack Prevention
      • Umbrella and Cisco Talos Threat Intelligence
    • Extensive Integrations
      • IT Security Integrations
      • Hardware Integrations
      • Meraki Integration
      • Cisco Umbrella and SecureX
  • Products
    • Cisco Umbrella Products
      • Cisco Umbrella Cloud Security Service
      • Recursive DNS Services
      • Cisco Umbrella SIG
      • Umbrella Investigate
      • What’s New
    • Product Packages
      • Cisco Umbrella Package Comparison
      • – DNS Security Essentials Package
      • – DNS Security Advantage Package
      • – SIG Essentials Package
      • – SIG Advantage Package
      • Umbrella Support Packages
    • Functionality
      • DNS-Layer Security
      • Secure Web Gateway
      • Cloud Access Security Broker (CASB)
      • Cloud Data Loss Prevention (DLP)
      • Cloud-Delivered Firewall
      • Cloud Malware Protection
      • Remote Browser Isolation (RBI)
    • Man on a laptop with headphones on. He is attending a Cisco Umbrella Live Demo
  • Solutions
    • SASE & SSE Solutions
      • Cisco Umbrella SASE
      • Secure Access Service Edge (SASE)
      • What is SASE
      • What is Security Service Edge (SSE)
    • Functionality Solutions
      • Web Content Filtering
      • Secure Direct Internet Access
      • Shadow IT Discovery & App Blocking
      • Fast Incident Response
      • Unified Threat Management
      • Protect Mobile Users
      • Securing Remote and Roaming Users
    • Network Solutions
      • Guest Wi-Fi Security
      • SD-WAN Security
      • Off-Network Endpoint Security
    • Industry Solutions
      • Government and Public Sector Cybersecurity
      • Financial Services Security
      • Cybersecurity for Manufacturing
      • Higher Education Security
      • K-12 Schools Security
      • Healthcare, Retail and Hospitality Security
      • Enterprise Cloud Security
      • Small Business Cybersecurity
  • Resources
    • Content Library
      • Top Resources
      • Cybersecurity Webinars
      • Events
      • Research Reports
      • Case Studies
      • Videos
      • Datasheets
      • eBooks
      • Solution Briefs
    • International Documents
      • Deutsch/German
      • Español/Spanish
      • Français/French
      • Italiano/Italian
      • 日本語/Japanese
    • Security Definitions
      • What is Secure Access Service Edge (SASE)
      • What is Security Service Edge (SSE)
      • What is a Cloud Access Security Broker (CASB)
      • Cyber Threat Categories and Definitions
    • For Customers
      • Support
      • Customer Success Webinars
      • Cisco Umbrella Studio
  • Trends & Threats
    • Market Trends
      • Hybrid Workforce
      • Rise of Remote Workers
      • Secure Internet Gateway (SIG)
    • Security Threats
      • How to Stop Phishing Attacks
      • Malware Detection and Protection
      • Ransomware is on the Rise
      • Cryptomining Malware Protection
      • Cybersecurity Threat Landscape
      • Global Cyber Threat Intelligence
    •  
    • Woman connecting confidently to any device anywhere
  • Partners
    • Channel Partners
      • Partner Program
      • Become a Partner
    • Service Providers
      • Secure Connectivity
      • Managed Security for MSSPs
      • Managed IT for MSPs
    •  
    • Person looking down at laptop. They are connecting and working securely
  • Blog
    • News & Product Posts
      • Latest Posts
      • Products & Services
      • Customer Focus
      • Feature Spotlight
    • Cybersecurity Posts
      • Security
      • Threats
      • Cybersecurity Threat Spotlight
      • Research
    •  
    • Register for a webinar - with illustration of connecting securely to the cloud
  • Contact Us
  • Umbrella Login
  • Cloudlock Login
  • Free Trial
Research

Phishing or official? Target’s “Credit Card Monitoring” Email from BFI0.com

Author avatar of Security Research TeamSecurity Research Team
Updated — April 8, 2020 • 3 minute read
View blog >

After the Target Credit Card breach this past week affecting over 100,000,000 people, consumers have been on edge about access to personal data. Then this week, reports began to surface about an email that claimed to be from the CEO of Target offering credit card monitoring services:

Screen Shot 2014-01-17 at 4.25.49 PM

On the surface, the email displayed all the classic signs of a phishing email:

  • The “from” address was from a suspicious domain, bfi0.com

  • The Target logo is not properly displayed

  • The email offers free credit monitoring services, which is a classic phishing scam

Social media sources began throwing red flags signaling that the email may have been fraudulent:

Target spox says the bfi0(dot)com emails are legit. Why use that domain for a sensitive issue? “We are sending tens of millions of emails”

— Geoffrey Fowler (@geoffreyfowler) January 17, 2014

Was this email spam, though?

The Email

If the email was spam, the first thing to investigate is how millions of copies made it past spam filters. For that, we look at two pieces of information – DKIM and SPF records. DKIM uses cryptography to “prove” who the sender was, and SPF is a tag on websites that show who is allowed to send email from that domain.

For the Target email, I looked at the headers and GMail validated both DKIM and SPF for the domain. This meant that bfi0.com sent the email – the “From” address was not being faked. The DKIM and SPF validation also meant that it helped the credibility of the email as it passed through spam filters.

Received-SPF: pass (google.com: domain of 11cfdf3aclayfovcia3lqanaaaaaab25u3dxc7ikjmiyaaaaa@target.bfi0.com designates 206.132.3.171 as permitted sender) client-ip=206.132.3.171;
Authentication-Results: mx.google.com;
       spf=pass (google.com: domain of 11cfdf3aclayfovcia3lqanaaaaaab25u3dxc7ikjmiyaaaaa@target.bfi0.com designates 206.132.3.171 as permitted sender) smtp.mail=11cfdf3aclayfovcia3lqanaaaaaab25u3dxc7ikjmiyaaaaa@target.bfi0.com;
       dkim=pass header.i=@target.bfi0.com
Return-Path: <11cfdf3aclayfovcia3lqanaaaaaab25u3dxc7ikjmiyaaaaa@target.bfi0.com>
DKIM-Signature: v=1; a=rsa-sha1; d=target.bfi0.com; s=ei; c=simple/simple;
 q=dns/txt; i=@target.bfi0.com; t=1389913363;
 h=From:Subject:Date:To:MIME-Version:Content-Type;
 bh=0Tw0KwI1VkkrQDwTITKqSCMS6YA=;
b=FerspETyfmnYlcbO+Noxgge27afmUdcuFZ9bdu4gyCueCtCWEWUOvFfWgW5ePrRm
XyJNZy37Mz3YYkAIVYpnL6e2ddvzXvtxCdQduRM0B3PWJa6aWX9u2Uaw+DKietIH
 8l7gdyBl+IVlaxCimKVkwRpw/bX1jRjjCvh/1H1Vupk=;
DomainKey-Signature: q=dns; a=rsa-sha1; c=nofws;
 s=ei; d=target.bfi0.com;

The Server

Now that the Target email can be definitely traced to bfi0.com, we investigate the server to see if it is suspicious. At first glance, visiting the domain gives a blank page – suspicious. However, upon deeper inspection, the domain WhoIs data reveals that it is owned by Epsilon.com – a division of Alliance Data, a $12 Billion publicly-traded marketing services company.

Security Graph Inspection

The OpenDNS Security Graph shows that bfi0.com is a high-traffic domain – it receives about a quarter as many DNS queries per hour as Target.com. Furthermore, initial algorithmic analysis shows that the domain is benign.

Analyzing the IP address behind the domain provides the most telling information about the Target email. The IP address behind bfi0.com hosts over 100 known domains. Some of these are subdomains of well-established websites, including:

  • alerts.chase.com

  • support.firstfederal.com

  • email.amtrak.com

  • email.charter.net

  • email.coldwellbanker.com

  • email.discover.com

  • email.fourseasons.com

  • email.mckinsey.com

  • email.nationalgeographic.com

  • email.sea.samsung.com

  • email.target.com

  • email.target.ca

These domains include reputable banks and Fortune 100 companies. The last two domains on the list link the Target corporate website to the server sending emails for bfi0.com.

Phishing or Official?

The conclusion: Official

Based on OpenDNS Security Graph research and DKIM, we can both verify that this email came from the IP address 206.132.3.45 behind bhi0.com, and we can confirm that this server also powers email.target.com.

Why did the email come from such an obscure domain? It appears that bfi0.com is the default sending address for an email service used by dozens of Fortune 100 companies. In this case, it appears that Target failed to configure the “from” address to match their domain, email.target.com.

Suggested Blogs

  • Cloud Application Security – Risks, Questions, Insights, and Solutions July 1, 2021 3 minute read
  • Cisco Umbrella discovers evolving, complex cyberthreats in first half of 2020 August 18, 2020 6 minute read
  • New research shows consumers want cybersecurity from service providers July 7, 2020 4 minute read

Share this blog

FacebookTweetLinkedIn

Follow Us

  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • LinkedIn
  • YouTube

Footer Sections

What we make

  • Cloud Security Service
  • DNS-Layer Network Security
  • Secure Web Gateway
  • Security Packages

Who we are

  • Global Cloud Architecture
  • Cloud Network Status
  • Cloud Network Activity
  • OpenDNS is now Umbrella
  • Cisco Umbrella Blog

Learn more

  • Webinars
  • Careers
  • Support
  • Cisco Umbrella Live Demo
  • Contact Sales
Umbrella by Cisco
208.67.222.222+208.67.220.220
2620:119:35::35+2620:119:53::53
Sign up for a Free Trial
  • Cisco Online Privacy Statement
  • Terms of Service
  • Sitemap

© 2023 Cisco Umbrella