How to stop deceptive emails like "Emails Did Not Reach Your Inbox"
Written by Tomas Meskauskas on
What kind of scam is "Emails Did Not Reach Your Inbox"?
Our investigation of this email revealed that it is a phishing attempt, disguising itself as a notification from an email service provider. Scammers use this tactic to trick recipients into visiting a fake website and sharing their personal information. Therefore, it is highly recommended that recipients avoid interacting with this email and disregard it.
More about the "Emails Did Not Reach Your Inbox" scam email
In the phishing email, the sender pretends to be an email service provider, claiming that some of the recipient's emails failed to reach their inbox due to a temporary issue with their mailbox. The email instructs the recipient to click a link labeled "Restore Email Delivery" to address the issue and ensure they receive all their important emails.
It concludes by emphasizing that the email is system-generated and advises the recipient not to reply to it. However, this email is a deceptive attempt by scammers to trick the recipient into clicking the link, leading to a fraudulent website designed to steal their personal information.
While investigating, we found that the webpage provided in this phishing email was inaccessible. It is important to note that such emails often include links intended to lead users to fraudulent websites that request login credentials, typically email addresses and passwords.
When scammers obtain stolen email account login credentials, they can access the victim's personal and sensitive information, including emails, contacts, and potentially confidential documents. This information can be exploited for identity theft, financial fraud, or blackmail.
Also, scammers can use the compromised email account to send phishing emails to the victim's contacts, spreading malware or scam messages from a trusted source. Moreover, the stolen credentials might provide access to other online accounts if the victim uses the same login information across multiple platforms, putting their financial and personal data at risk.
Lastly, scammers can sell stolen email login credentials on the dark web, where other cybercriminals may purchase them for various illicit purposes, exacerbating the potential harm to the victim.
Name | Emails Did Not Reach Your Inbox Email Scam |
Threat Type | Phishing, Scam, Social Engineering, Fraud |
Fake Claim | Recipient's emails failed to reach their inbox |
Disguise | Notification 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
As a rule, phishing emails often impersonate trusted entities, such as banks or email providers, and aim to steal sensitive information like login credentials, credit card details, or personal data. These emails typically contain links to fake websites or malicious attachments that can compromise the recipient's security.
It is important to know that cybercriminals can include malicious links or files in their emails to trick recipients into infecting their computers. More examples of similar scams are "American Express - Update Your Account Information", "Specialized Hacker Succeeded In Hacking Your Operating System", and "You Mailbox Failed 2 Security Test".
How do spam campaigns infect computers?
Cybercriminals often create emails that look genuine to lure recipients into opening malicious attachments or clicking on links. Unfortunately, these actions can introduce harmful software into their computers.
Malicious individuals commonly use various file formats like ISO, executables (.exe), Microsoft Office documents (.doc, .xls), PDFs, and scripts (.js) to distribute malware. When these files are opened, the malware can start working, sometimes without any additional steps like enabling macros in documents.
How to avoid installation of malware?
Regularly update your operating system, web browsers, antivirus software, and other programs to patch security vulnerabilities that malware could exploit. Be skeptical of email attachments or links, especially from unknown or unexpected addresses. Do not open attachments or links unless you are certain they are legitimate.
Install and maintain reputable antivirus and anti-malware programs on your computer. Avoid downloading files from suspicious websites and only use trusted sources for software downloads. Be careful with ads or pop-ups on dubious sites, as they can sometimes lead to malicious websites.
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 "Emails Did Not Reach Your Inbox" email letter:
Subject: - IMAP Inbox Restoration
Dear ********,
We noticed that some emails sent to you did not reach your inbox.
It seems that your mailbox ******** has encountered a temporary issue.
To ensure you receive all your important emails, we recommend taking the following steps:
Restore Email DeliveryPlease note that this email is system-generated, so please do not reply to this message.
Copyright ******** All rights reserved.
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Quick menu:
- What is Emails Did Not Reach Your Inbox 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?
Typically, these unsolicited emails lack any form of personalization. Scammers distribute identical messages to a large number of recipients to trap someone in their deceptive scheme.
I have provided my personal information when tricked by this email, what should I do?
If you've disclosed your personal information as a result of being deceived by an email scam, it's crucial to take immediate action. Begin by changing all pertinent passwords, monitor your accounts for unusual or suspicious activities, and contemplate notifying the appropriate authorities or institutions about the potential security breach.
I have downloaded and opened a file attached to this email, is my computer infected?
If you have opened a harmful email attachment, your computer could be in danger. Some file formats, like .exe files, are riskier, while with file types such as Microsoft Office documents, infections typically happen when you do extra things like enabling macros.
I have read the email but didn't open the attachment, is my computer infected?
Generally, there is no significant risk associated with simply opening emails. However, the potential danger arises when you interact with harmful links or attachments in those emails.
Will Combo Cleaner remove malware infections that were present in email attachment?
Combo Cleaner is a reliable tool for eradicating malware from computers. It excels at detecting most known malicious software. Conducting a thorough system scan is crucial when dealing with advanced malware, as it tends to hide deeply within the system.
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