Do not trust fake emails claiming your mailbox failed to receive messages

What kind of email is "Mailbox Failed To Receive New Messages"?

Our inspection of the "Mailbox Failed To Receive New Messages" email revealed that is spam. This letter falsely claims that incoming messages are failing to reach the recipient's inbox. Hence, by attempting to rectify this nonexistent issue, users are tricked into providing their email account log-in credentials to a phishing website.

"Mailbox Failed To Receive New Messages" email scam overview

The spam email with the subject "INBOUND SENDING NOTICE" (may vary) states that since a specific date, the mailbox has failed to receive incoming messages. If the recipient does not accept the pending emails, they will be deleted after 24 hours.

At the time of research, when we followed the link in this letter – it resulted in a redirect to a dead webpage. Based on our experience, we can conclude that the nonfunctional site was intended to operate (or previously worked) as a phishing website. It was most likely disguised as an email account sign-in page. It must be stressed that this spam mail could promote a fully functional website in future releases.

Phishing sites are designed to record the information entered into them (e.g., email addresses and corresponding passwords, etc.) and send it to cyber criminals.

Victims of scams like "Mailbox Failed To Receive New Messages" risk more than just losing their email accounts, as scammers may also gain access/control over content registered through them. To elaborate, hijacked finance-related accounts (e.g., online banking, e-commerce, cryptocurrency wallets, etc.) can be used to perform unauthorized transactions or online purchases.

Furthermore, criminals can steal the identities of social account owners (e.g., emails, social networking, social media, messengers, etc.) and ask their contacts/friends/followers for loans or donations, promote scams, or spread malware by sharing malicious files/links.

Therefore, by trusting an email like "Mailbox Failed To Receive New Messages" – users can experience severe privacy issues, financial losses, and even identity theft.

If you have already provided your account credentials to a phishing website – immediately change the passwords of all possibly exposed accounts and contact their official support.

Threat Summary:

Name	"Mailbox Failed To Receive New Messages" phishing email
Threat Type	Phishing, Scam, Social Engineering, Fraud
Fake Claim	Emails fail to reach the recipient's inbox.
Symptoms	Unauthorized online purchases, changed online account passwords, identity theft, illegal access of the computer.
Distribution methods	Deceptive emails, rogue online pop-up ads, search engine poisoning techniques, misspelled domains.
Damage	Loss of sensitive private information, monetary loss, identity theft.
Malware Removal (Windows)	To eliminate possible malware infections, scan your computer with legitimate antivirus software. Our security researchers recommend using Combo Cleaner. ▼ Download Combo Cleaner To use full-featured product, you have to purchase a license for Combo Cleaner. 7 days free trial available. Combo Cleaner is owned and operated by Rcs Lt, the parent company of PCRisk.com read more.

Phishing spam campaign examples

We have examined countless spam emails; "Adobe - Request For Quotation", "Document Received", "Multiple Unsuccessful Login Attempts", and "Impossibility Of Your Transferring Your Funds" are merely some examples of our newest finds.

These letters can wear a variety of disguises, including as messages from genuine service providers, companies, institutions, authorities, and other entities. Various scams are facilitated via spam letters, but they are also used to proliferate malware (e.g., trojans, ransomware, cryptocurrency miners, etc.).

How do spam campaigns infect computers?

Spam emails are commonly used to spread malware; this technique entails attaching infectious files to the letters or including links to malicious websites hosting said files. They could be documents (e.g., Microsoft Office, Microsoft OneNote, PDF, etc.), executables (e.g., .exe, .run, etc.), archives (e.g., ZIP, RAR, etc.), JavaScript, or any number of other formats.

When a virulent file is executed, run, or otherwise open – the infection process (i.e., malware download/installation) is triggered. For example, Microsoft Office files infect devices by executing malicious macro commands, while infectious OneNote documents require users to click on embedded files or links.

How to avoid installation of malware?

It is crucial to treat incoming emails, DMs/PMs, SMSes, and other messages with caution. We advise against opening attachments or links found in suspicious/irrelevant mail, as they can be infectious. We also recommend using post-2010 Microsoft Office versions since they have the "Protected View" mode that prevents automatic macro execution.

It must be mentioned that malware is not proliferated exclusively via spam mail. Therefore, vigilance must be extended to browsing since fake and malicious online content usually appears legitimate and innocuous.

Furthermore, all downloads must be performed from official and verified channels. It is important to activate and update software using only genuine functions/tools, as illegal activation ("cracking") tools and third-party updates can contain malware.

We must emphasize that having a reputable anti-virus installed and kept up-to-date is essential to device and user safety. Security programs must be used to run regular system scans and to remove threats/issues. If you've already opened malicious attachments, we recommend running a scan with Combo Cleaner Antivirus for Windows to automatically eliminate infiltrated malware.

Text presented in the "Mailbox Failed To Receive New Messages" spam email letter:

Subject: INBOUND SENDING NOTICE

Hello -

This is the inbound mail sending program x1.201.34.1.

Your mailbox failed to receive new messages since 18 MAY 2023.

To retrieve your e-mails  click here

 

Note: Your pending messages will be deleted after 24 hours if you fail to submit this report.

- IT Team

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Quick menu:

• What is "Mailbox Failed To Receive New Messages" phishing email?
• Types of malicious emails.
• How to spot a malicious email?
• What to do if you fell for an email scam?

Types of malicious emails:

Phishing Emails

Most commonly, cybercriminals use deceptive emails to trick Internet users into giving away their sensitive private information, for example, login information for various online services, email accounts, or online banking information.

Such attacks are called phishing. In a phishing attack, cybercriminals usually send an email message with some popular service logo (for example, Microsoft, DHL, Amazon, Netflix), create urgency (wrong shipping address, expired password, etc.), and place a link which they hope their potential victims will click on.

After clicking the link presented in such email message, victims are redirected to a fake website that looks identical or extremely similar to the original one. Victims are then asked to enter their password, credit card details, or some other information that gets stolen by cybercriminals.

Emails with Malicious Attachments

Another popular attack vector is email spam with malicious attachments that infect users' computers with malware. Malicious attachments usually carry trojans that are capable of stealing passwords, banking information, and other sensitive information.

In such attacks, cybercriminals' main goal is to trick their potential victims into opening an infected email attachment. To achieve this goal, email messages usually talk about recently received invoices, faxes, or voice messages.

If a potential victim falls for the lure and opens the attachment, their computers get infected, and cybercriminals can collect a lot of sensitive information.

While it's a more complicated method to steal personal information (spam filters and antivirus programs usually detect such attempts), if successful, cybercriminals can get a much wider array of data and can collect information for a long period of time.

Sextortion Emails

This is a type of phishing. In this case, users receive an email claiming that a cybercriminal could access the webcam of the potential victim and has a video recording of one's masturbation.

To get rid of the video, victims are asked to pay a ransom (usually using Bitcoin or another cryptocurrency). Nevertheless, all of these claims are false - users who receive such emails should ignore and delete them.

How to spot a malicious email?

While cyber criminals try to make their lure emails look trustworthy, here are some things that you should look for when trying to spot a phishing email:

• Check the sender's ("from") email address: Hover your mouse over the "from" address and check if it's legitimate. For example, if you received an email from Microsoft, be sure to check if the email address is @microsoft.com and not something suspicious like @m1crosoft.com, @microsfot.com, @account-security-noreply.com, etc.
• Check for generic greetings: If the greeting in the email is "Dear user", "Dear @youremail.com", "Dear valued customer", this should raise suspiciousness. Most commonly, companies call you by your name. Lack of this information could signal a phishing attempt.
• Check the links in the email: Hover your mouse over the link presented in the email, if the link that appears seems suspicious, don't click it. For example, if you received an email from Microsoft and the link in the email shows that it will go to firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0... you shouldn't trust it. It's best not to click any links in the emails but to visit the company website that sent you the email in the first place.
• Don't blindly trust email attachments: Most commonly, legitimate companies will ask you to log in to their website and to view any documents there; if you received an email with an attachment, it's a good idea to scan it with an antivirus application. Infected email attachments are a common attack vector used by cybercriminals.

To minimise the risk of opening phishing and malicious emails we recommend using Combo Cleaner Antivirus for Windows. 

Example of a spam email:

What to do if you fell for an email scam?

• If you clicked on a link in a phishing email and entered your password - be sure to change your password as soon as possible. Usually, cybercriminals collect stolen credentials and then sell them to other groups that use them for malicious purposes. If you change your password in a timely manner, there's a chance that criminals won't have enough time to do any damage.
• If you entered your credit card information - contact your bank as soon as possible and explain the situation. There's a good chance that you will need to cancel your compromised credit card and get a new one.
• If you see any signs of identity theft - you should immediately contact the Federal Trade Commission. This institution will collect information about your situation and create a personal recovery plan.
• If you opened a malicious attachment - your computer is probably infected, you should scan it with a reputable antivirus application. For this purpose, we recommend using Combo Cleaner Antivirus for Windows.
• Help other Internet users - report phishing emails to Anti-Phishing Working Group, FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center, National Fraud Information Center and U.S. Department of Justice.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Why did I receive this email?

Spam emails are not personal. They are distributed in large-scale operations – hence, thousands of users receive identical messages.

I have provided my personal information when tricked by this spam email, what should I do?

If you have disclosed your log-in credentials – change the passwords of all possibly exposed accounts and inform their official support without delay. And if the provided information was of a different personal nature (e.g., ID card details, credit card numbers, etc.) – immediately contact the appropriate authorities.

I have read a spam email but didn't open the attachment, is my computer infected?

Devices are infected when malicious attachments or links are opened; merely opening/reading an email will not trigger any malware download/installation processes.

I have downloaded and opened a file attached to a spam email, is my computer infected?

If the opened file was an executable (.exe, .run, etc.) – most likely, yes – your device was infected. However, you might have avoided triggering an infection chain if it was a document (.doc, .xls, .pdf, .one, etc.). These formats may require additional user interaction (e.g., enabling macro commands, clicking on embedded files/links, etc.) to start downloading/installing malware.

Will Combo Cleaner remove malware infections present in email attachments?

Yes, Combo Cleaner is capable of detecting and eliminating nearly all known malware infections. It must be stressed that running a complete system scan is essential – since sophisticated malicious software typically hides deep within systems.

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