Hackers have learned to deliberately corrupt Office documents to bypass antivirus protection, according to experts at ANY.RUN, The Hacker News reports.

Experts have discovered that users have been attacked by sending phishing emails containing damaged documents. These files can be opened by Word or other programs, but built-in security systems and antivirus programs often do not detect them due to an error.

As a rule, scammers send Word text documents and zip-archives that contain links or QR-codes. By scanning them, users end up on phishing websites, where they risk losing their data and funds. According to ANY.RUN specialists, such attacks were carried out for the first time in August.

In order to steal users' data and money, fraudsters promise them fees or other incentives. PC owners tend to trust the information because the files sent are not detected by security systems.

The authors of the report advised users not to open emails from suspicious or unknown sources.