How to spot scams like "Messages Are Pending Due To Storage Error"
Written by Tomas Meskauskas on
What is "Messages Are Pending Due To Storage Error"?
During our investigation of this email, our team has determined that it is a sophisticated phishing attempt masquerading as a notification from an email service provider. Scammers employ this tactic to lure unsuspecting recipients into visiting a fraudulent webpage and divulging their personal information. Consequently, recipients are strongly advised to ignore and not engage with this email.
More about the "Messages Are Pending Due To Storage Error" scam email
The email asserts that there is a record of undelivered emails within the recipient's inbox. It emphasizes that due to a storage error, three messages are presently pending for delivery in the recipient's mailbox. To prevent potential message loss, the recipient is encouraged to click on a provided link labeled "Receive Messages".
It is crucial to exercise caution, as this email is identified as a phishing attempt. The sender masquerades as an email service provider, employing tactics to entice recipients into interacting with the email. The ultimate goal seems to be redirecting recipients to a fake webpage where personal and sensitive information could be compromised.
In the course of our investigation, the phishing website linked in this email was inaccessible. Typically, individuals orchestrating email scams disguised as notifications from email service providers have the objective of obtaining login credentials for email accounts, including email addresses and passwords.
Criminals can utilize pilfered email account login details in various detrimental ways. They might gain illicit entry to the victim's email, potentially jeopardizing sensitive personal and financial data. Furthermore, scammers can exploit the victim's email to assume their identity and partake in deceptive endeavors, including sending phishing emails or fraudulent schemes to the victim's contacts.
The stolen credentials can also provide access to other online accounts associated with the same email address, thereby heightening the risk of identity theft, financial fraud, and more.
| Name | Messages Are Pending Due To Storage Error Email Scam |
| Threat Type | Phishing, Scam, Social Engineering, Fraud |
| Fake Claim | Messages are pending due to storage error |
| Disguise | Letter from an email service provider |
| 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. |
Similar scam emails in general
Phishing emails are crafted with the intention of misleading recipients through false appearances of credibility. They often utilize urgent or alluring content to manipulate individuals into revealing personal information like login credentials, credit card details, social security numbers, etc. These deceitful emails can give rise to possible risks, including identity theft, financial harm, or exposure to malware.
Examples of emails used to steal information are "Notice Of Regular Maintenance", "IMAP Is Currently Marked Inactive", and "Your Password Has Been Changed".
How do spam campaigns infect computers?
Cybercriminals often design emails to look genuine, luring recipients to interact with attachments or click on links. Unfortunately, this can lead recipients to inadvertently introduce malware into their computers.
Typically, malicious actors employ various file formats like ISO files, executable files (such as .exe), Microsoft Office documents (e.g., .doc, .xls), PDFs, and even scripts (e.g., .js) to spread malware. Once these files are accessed, the malware can activate. The occurrence and nature of infections depend on the specific characteristics of the infected files.
How to avoid installation of malware?
Acquire software and files exclusively from trustworthy sources, such as official websites and authorized stores. Exercise care when dealing with emails, especially when it involves opening attachments or clicking on links from unfamiliar sources. Regularly update your computer, antivirus, and other software.
Be attentive to your online actions: avoid engaging with pop-up ads, notifications from questionable websites, dubious "Download" buttons, urgent requests to update software from unofficial sources, and the like. If you have already opened malicious attachments, we recommend running a scan with Combo Cleaner Antivirus for Windows to automatically eliminate infiltrated malware.
Text presented in the "Messages Are Pending Due To Storage Error" email letter:
Subject: (6) messages are pending to deliver in your mailbox ********
Hello -,
The below statement shows record of undelivered emails in your inbox (3) messages are pending to deliver in your mailbox due to storage error, click receive messages to accept this undelivered mails and avoid loosing messages.
Receive Messages
Email Actions Subject Recipient: Web Actions Date
Add to Inbox Re: Payment ******** (more..1) 08/23/2023
Add to Inbox FW: DocuSign ******** (more..2) 08/23/2023
Add to Inbox Re: Re: 1102 Gerona Ave ******** (more..3) 08/22/2023
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Quick menu:
- What is Messages Are Pending Due To Storage Error 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?
You have received a phishing email, as cybercriminals cast a wide net to deceive various recipients and illicitly acquire access to personal or financial data. These emails frequently present a credible facade to manipulate recipients into performing actions that might jeopardize their security or privacy.
I have provided my personal information when tricked by this email, what should I do?
In the event that you've disclosed your personal information due to being deceived by a fraudulent email, it's imperative to act swiftly. Take the necessary steps to modify all pertinent passwords, closely monitor your accounts for any unusual activities, and contemplate reaching out to appropriate authorities or institutions to notify them about the possible security breach.
I have downloaded and opened a file attached to an email, is my computer infected?
If you have opened a harmful email attachment, your computer could be infected. Certain file types, like .exe files, are risky. But with others like MS Office documents, infections usually happen if you take extra steps like enabling macros.
I have read the email but did not open the attachment, is my computer infected?
Usually, there is no risk in just opening emails. But the danger comes when you click on harmful links or open attachments in those emails.
Will Combo Cleaner remove malware infections that were present in email attachment?
Combo Cleaner will scan your computer and eliminate malware. It can identify the majority of well-known malware. It is crucial to conduct a comprehensive system scan to effectively remove advanced malware, as this type tends to conceal itself deeply within the system.
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