Avoid losing your account via fake "Emails Need Your Attention" emails

What kind of email is "Emails Need Your Attention"?

Our inspection of the "Emails Need Your Attention" message revealed that it is spam. It states that emails were blocked from reaching the inbox due to security concerns. The recipient is encouraged to review the withheld messages, and those who are tricked – enter a phishing website that targets email account log-in credentials.

"Emails Need Your Attention" email scam overview

The spam email with the subject "Alert: Important Messages Require Your Review" (may vary) informs the recipient that an unspecified number of messages were withheld for security reasons. The undelivered emails can be reviewed by pressing the button in this letter.

As mentioned in the introduction, the claims made by this email are false, and this mail is not associated with any genuine service providers or other entities.

Once the "Review Held Messages" button is clicked, it results in a redirect to a phishing website. The page states – "Re-Authentication is Required/ Sign-in again to continue repair..." – and asks the visitor to submit their email account log-in credentials.

Attempting to sign in through this site exposes the email password to scammers, thus enabling them to steal the account. The risk exceeds the loss of an email, as cyber criminals might gain control over the content linked to it (i.e., accounts, platforms, and services registered through the email).

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 request loans or donations from contacts/friends/followers, endorse scams, and spread malware by sharing malicious links/files.

Sensitive or confidential content discovered on compromised platforms/accounts can be used for blackmail or other nefarious purposes. What is more, stolen finance-related accounts (e.g., online banking, money transferring, e-commerce, digital wallets, etc.) can be used to make fraudulent transactions and online purchases.

To summarize, by trusting an email like "Emails Need Your Attention" – users can experience severe privacy issues, financial losses, and even identity theft.

If you have already entered your log-in credentials into a phishing website or file – immediately change the passwords of all potentially compromised accounts and contact their official support.

Threat Summary:

Name	"Emails Need Your Attention" phishing email
Threat Type	Phishing, Scam, Social Engineering, Fraud
Fake Claim	Several emails were withheld due to security concerns.
Related Domains	officemailfix[.]com
Detection Names (officemailfix[.]com)	Combo Cleaner (Malware), CyRadar (Malware) G-Data (Malware), Lionic (Malware), VIPRE (Malware), 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

"Webmail - Mail Basic", "Adobe Contract Agreement", "MailBox De-activation", and "Invoice For Our Recent Order" are just some of our newest articles on phishing campaigns. It must be mentioned that spam emails are used to promote various scams, and they are utilized in malware proliferation.

Deceptive claims are used to gain recipients' trust; the bait can concern undelivered emails, account issues, suspicious activity, subscription renewal, refunds, business offers, financial documents, inheritances, lotteries, and so forth.

While the widely held belief that spam messages are riddled with grammatical/spelling errors is not untrue, it is not always the case. These emails can be competently made and even convincingly disguised as letters from legitimate entities (e.g., service providers, companies, institutions, authorities, etc.).

How do spam campaigns infect computers?

Cyber criminals commonly use spam campaigns to proliferate malware. Deceptive emails/messages can have malicious files attached to or linked inside them. These files come in various formats, e.g., documents (PDF, Microsoft Office, Microsoft OneNote, etc.), archives (RAR, ZIP, etc.), executables (.exe, .run, etc.), JavaScript, and so on.

Once an infectious file is opened – the malware download/installation chain is triggered. Some formats need extra actions to jumpstart infection processes. For example, Microsoft Office files require users to enable macro commands (i.e., editing/content), while OneNote documents need them to click embedded links or files.

How to avoid installation of malware?

It is crucial to exercise caution with incoming emails, DMs/PMs, SMSes, and other messages. We advise against opening attachments or links found in suspicious mail, as they can be malicious.

However, malware is not distributed only via spam mail. Therefore, we recommend being careful while browsing, as fraudulent and dangerous online content usually appears legitimate and innocuous.

Another recommendation is to download only from official and verified sources. Furthermore, all programs must be activated and updated using genuine functions/tools, as illegal activation ("cracking") tools and third-party updaters may contain malware.

We must emphasize the importance of having a reputable anti-virus installed and kept updated. Security software must be used to perform regular system scans and to remove 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 "Emails Need Your Attention" spam email letter:

Subject: Alert: Important Messages Require Your Review

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

Hello ********,

We noticed a few emails in your inbox that need your attention. As part of our ongoing effort to keep your account secure, we've temporarily held some messages for review.

Please take a moment to review these emails and manage your inbox:

Review Held Messages

 

Thank you for your prompt action and continued support.

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

If you have any questions, please contact our support team.

© 2024 ********. All rights reserved.

Screenshot of the phishing website promoted by the "Emails Need Your Attention" 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 "Emails Need Your Attention" 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?

Regardless of any relevant information that they may include, spam emails are not personal. 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 disclosed your account credentials – change the passwords of all potentially compromised accounts and inform their official support without delay. And if you have provided other private information (e.g., passport photos/scans, ID card details, credit/debit 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/clicked; reading an email poses no infection threat.

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 – the system was compromised. However, some formats – like documents (.doc, .xls, .one, .pdf, etc.) – may need additional actions to initiate malware download/installation. For example, the infection might only be triggered after macro commands are enabled, embedded content is clicked, and so on.

Will Combo Cleaner remove malware infections present in email attachments?

Yes, Combo Cleaner is capable of detecting and eliminating practically all known malware infections. It must be stressed that running a full system scan is paramount since sophisticated malicious programs tend to hide deep within systems.

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