Do not trust fake "Messages Have Been Temporarily Held" emails

What kind of email is "Messages Have Been Temporarily Held"?

After inspecting the "Messages Have Been Temporarily Held" email, we determined that it is spam. This phishing letter claims multiple messages were withheld from reaching the recipient's inbox.

The spam mail lures victims into disclosing their email account log-in credentials under the guise of allowing them to review the undelivered messages.

"Messages Have Been Temporarily Held" email scam overview

The spam email with the subject "Manage Held Messages!" (may vary) states that multiple messages require immediate attention. They were withheld due to a security update. The recipient is instructed to press the "View Held Messages Secure Your Inbox" button to manage the undelivered emails.

It must be stressed that this information is false, and this mail is not associated with any legitimate service providers or other entities.

This spam campaign promotes a phishing website. The page states that "Re-Authentication is Required" and instructs to "Sign-in again to continue repair...". Phishing sites record entered information and send it to scammers.

Emails are of particular interest to cyber criminals since they typically contain sensitive data and may serve as a gateway for gaining access to accounts/platforms/services registered through them.

To expand upon the potential abuse of the unauthorized access, scammers can steal the identities of 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/links.

Furthermore, stolen finance-related accounts (e.g., online banking, money transferring, digital wallets, e-commerce, etc.) can be used to make fraudulent transactions or online purchases.

To summarize, victims of scam mail like "Messages Have Been Temporarily Held" can experience severe privacy issues, financial losses, and even identity theft.

If you have already disclosed your log-in credentials – immediately change the passwords of all possibly exposed accounts and inform their official support.

Threat Summary:

Name	"Messages Have Been Temporarily Held" phishing email
Threat Type	Phishing, Scam, Social Engineering, Fraud
Fake Claim	Emails were withheld due to a security update.
Related Domains	officemailfix[.]com
Detection Names (officemailfix[.]com)	Combo Cleaner (Malware), CRDF (Malicious), G-Data (Malware), Webroot (Malicious), Full List Of Detections (VirusTotal)
Serving IP Address (officemailfix[.]com)	64.225.7.21
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

"Wells Fargo - Unusual Account Activity", "Organizing A Foundation", "Account Department", "Westside Auto Wholesale", and "Donation Of Crypto Funds" are merely some examples of phishing emails.

This mail primarily seeks log-in credentials, personally identifiable information, and finance-related data. Various scams are facilitated through spam, and it is used to proliferate malware.

Due to how widespread spam mail is and well-disguised it can be – we highly recommend being careful with incoming emails, PMs/DMs, SMSes, and other messages.

How do spam campaigns infect computers?

Spam campaigns are widely used in malware distribution. These emails/messages can have malicious files attached to or linked inside them. Virulent files can be archives (ZIP, RAR, etc.), executables (.exe, .run, etc.), documents (Microsoft Office, Microsoft OneNote, PDF, etc.), JavaScript, and so on.

Merely opening such a file can be enough to trigger the malware download/installation chain. However, some formats may need additional interaction to initiate system infection processes. For example, Microsoft Office files require users to enable macro commands (i.e., editing/content), while OneNote documents need users to click embedded links or files.

How to avoid installation of malware?

We recommend vigilance with incoming emails, DMs/PMs, SMSes, and other messages. Attachments or links found in suspicious/irrelevant mail must not be opened, as they can be harmful or infectious.

However, malware is not proliferated exclusively via spam mail. Therefore, exercise caution while browsing since the Internet is full of deceptive and malicious content.

Another recommendation is to download only from official and verified channels. Additionally, all programs must be activated and updated using legitimate functions/tools, as illegal activation tools ("cracks") and third-party updates can contain malware.

We must emphasize the importance of having a dependable anti-virus installed and kept up-to-date. Security programs must be used to run regular system scans and to remove detected threats and 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 "Messages Have Been Temporarily Held" spam email letter:

Subject: Manage Held Messages!

This email has been verified by ********'s automated system.

Dear ********,

We have identified some emails in your inbox that require your immediate attention. As part of our recent security update, certain messages have been temporarily held to ensure compliance with our safety standards.

To review and manage these held messages, please log in to your account:

View Held Messages Secure Your Inbox

We appreciate your understanding and ongoing support.

Best regards,
The ******** Support Team

Screenshot of the phishing website promoted by the "Messages Have Been Temporarily Held" spam campaign:

Instant automatic malware removal: Manual threat removal might be a lengthy and complicated process that requires advanced IT skills. Combo Cleaner is a professional automatic malware removal tool that is recommended to get rid of malware. Download it by clicking the button below:
▼ 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 "Messages Have Been Temporarily Held" 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, even if they include details relevant to the recipients. Cyber criminals distribute this mail by the thousand with the hopes that at least some recipients will fall for their scams.

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

If you have provided your log-in credentials – change the passwords of all possibly exposed accounts and inform their official support. However, if you've disclosed other private information (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?

No, merely reading an email is harmless. Systems are compromised 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 your device was infected might depend on the format of the opened file. If it was an executable (.exe, .run, etc.) – most likely, yes. However, some formats may need additional user interaction to initiate system infection processes (e.g., enabling macros, clicking embedded content, etc.).

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 emphasized that running a complete system scan is essential since sophisticated malicious programs usually hide deep within systems.

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