Avoid losing your account via emails claiming "You Have New Held Messages"

What kind of email is "You Have New Held Messages"?

After investigating the "You Have New Held Messages" email, we determined that it is spam. This message falsely states that the recipient has sixteen pending emails, which will be deleted unless released into the inbox within a certain timeframe. This mail promotes a phishing website that records provided email account log-in credentials.

"You Have New Held Messages" email scam overview

The scam email with the subject "[recipient's_email_address] You have {16} Pending mails Error" (may vary) states that incoming messages have been blocked. The letter informs that sixteen emails are pending delivery to the recipient's inbox. Unless the withheld messages are retrieved within 24 hours, they will be deleted.

It must be emphasized that all these claims are false, and this mail is not associated with any legitimate service providers.

After we clicked the "Enable Data" button, it resulted in a redirect to a phishing website. The page was presented as an email sign-in page. Data (i.e., email account passwords) typed into this webpage will be recorded and sent to the scammers. With this information in their possession, the cyber criminals can steal the exposed accounts and potentially the content registered through them.

To elaborate on the potential misuse, scammers can steal the identities of social account owners (e.g., emails, social networking, social media, etc.) and ask the contacts/friends/followers for loans or donations, promote scams, and spread malware by sharing malicious files or links.

Hijacked finance-related accounts (e.g., online banking, money transferring, e-commerce, cryptowallets, etc.) can be used to make unauthorized transactions and/or online purchases.

To summarize, victims of spam mail like "You Have New Held Messages" – can experience severe privacy issues, financial losses, and even identity theft.

If you have already provided your log-in credentials to a phishing webpage – change the passwords of all possibly compromised accounts and inform their official support without delay.

Threat Summary:

Name	"You Have New Held Messages" phishing email
Threat Type	Phishing, Scam, Social Engineering, Fraud
Fake Claim	Pending emails failed delivery and will be deleted unless released into the 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 analyzed countless spam emails; "Your Mail Version Is Currently Being Disconnected", "Signed Agreement", and "Emails Did Not Reach Your Inbox" are merely a few examples of ones used for phishing.

Aside from scam promotion, spam mail is used to distribute malware (e.g., trojans, ransomware, cryptominers, etc.). These emails can wear various disguises, including as messages from legitimate service providers, companies, organizations, institutions, authorities, and other entities.

Due to how widespread and potentially well-made spam mail can be – we highly recommend exercising caution with incoming emails, PMs/DMs, SMSes, and other messages.

How do spam campaigns infect computers?

Spam emails/messages can have malicious files attached to or linked inside them. These files can be documents (PDF, Microsoft Office, Microsoft OneNote, etc.), executables (.exe, .run, etc.), archives (ZIP, RAR, etc.), JavaScript, and so on. Once an infectious file is executed, run, or otherwise opened – the malware download/installation chain is triggered.

However, some formats may require additional user interaction to jumpstart system infection processes. To expand on this, Microsoft Office files need users to enable macro commands (i.e., editing/content), while OneNote documents require them to click on embedded files or links.

How to avoid installation of malware?

It is essential to treat incoming emails and other messages with care. We advise against opening attachments or links found in suspicious/irrelevant mail, as they can be malicious. It is important to use Microsoft Office versions released after 2010 since their "Protected View" mode prevents automatic macro command execution.

Keep in mind that malware is not proliferated exclusively through spam mail. Therefore, we also advise being vigilant while browsing since fake and dangerous online content typically appears legitimate and innocuous.

Furthermore, all downloads must be performed from official and verified channels. Another recommendation is to activate and update programs using functions/tools provided by genuine developers, as illegal activation tools ("cracks") and third-party updaters may contain malware.

We must stress the importance of having a reputable anti-virus installed and kept updated. This software must be used to run regular system scans and to remove threats. 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 "You Have New Held Messages" spam email letter:

Subject: ******** You have {16} Pending mails Error

You have new held messages

LAST REMINDER

Dear ********

Incoming messages are blocked on your mail server.
You have {16} blocked emails on your server waiting to be delivered to ********
Enable data to retrieve messages or they will be deleted permenently in 24 hours.

Enable Data

© 2003 - 2022 ******** WebClient Services Limited.

Screenshot of the phishing website promoted by the "You Have New Held Messages" spam campaign:

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▼ DOWNLOAD Combo Cleaner By downloading any software listed on this website you agree to our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use. 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.

Quick menu:

• What is "You Have New Held 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?

Cyber criminals distribute spam mail in massive campaigns. Hence, these emails are not personal.

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

If you have provided your account credentials – immediately change the passwords of all potentially exposed accounts and inform their official support. Should you have disclosed other private data (e.g., ID card details, passport scans/photos, credit card numbers, etc.) – contact the appropriate authorities without delay.

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

No, reading an email will not trigger any malware download/installation processes. Devices are infected when malicious attachments or links are opened/clicked.

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

Whether an infection occurred might depend on the opened file's format. If it was an executable (.exe, .run, etc.) – most likely, yes. However, you might have avoided triggering an infection if it was a document (.doc, .xls, .one, .pdf, etc.). These formats may need extra actions (e.g., enabling macro commands, clicking embedded content, etc.) to begin malware download/installation processes.

Will Combo Cleaner remove malware infections present in email attachments?

Yes, Combo Cleaner is designed to scan computers and remove threats. It can detect and eliminate practically all known malware infections. Note that performing a full system scan is essential since sophisticated malicious software typically hides deep within systems.

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