How to spot fake emails like "Maximum Mailbox Space Allowed"

What kind of scam is "Maximum Mailbox Space Allowed"?

Our team has examined this letter and discovered that it is a phishing email. It is created by scammers who aim to trick recipients into believing they have received a notification from an email service provider. These fraudsters aim to lure recipients into entering information on a fake website.

More about the "Maximum Mailbox Space Allowed" scam email

This phishing email claims that the recipient's mailbox has reached 90% of its storage limit. It advises the recipient to free up space to avoid reaching 100%, at which point they would no longer receive messages. The email suggests emptying the Trash and archiving old emails to conserve space and setting up the email account with POP protocol to store emails on a computer.

It also mentions contacting the email administrator for more information if the recipient relies on one to manage their account. This email has "empty your Trash", "archive your old e-mails", "setup your e-mail account with POP, and "contact him" links, all leading to a deceptive website.

This fake site mimics the login page of the recipient's email service provider. For instance, if the recipient uses Google as its mail provider, then the scam site masquerades as the Gmail login page. In any case, the purpose of this website is to extract login credentials for email accountsa from users.

Once scammers obtain login credentials, they can access email accounts and read sensitive emails containing personal data, financial information, and other private communications. Also, scammers can request password resets for other online accounts linked to that email, potentially taking over those accounts as well.

Furthermore, scammers can impersonate the victim and send phishing emails, malicious files, or links to their contacts. Additionally, scammers can sell stolen credentials (and other obtained information) on the dark web to other criminals. Thus, it is important to be careful when encountering suspicious emails containing files or links.

Threat Summary:

Name	Maximum Mailbox Space Allowed Email Scam
Threat Type	Phishing, Scam, Social Engineering, Fraud
Fake Claim	the recipient's mailbox has reached 90% of its limit.
Related Domain	arvindhumanresources[.]com
Detection Names (arvindhumanresources[.]com)	alphaMountain.ai (Malicious), CRDF (Malicious), ESET (Phishing), Kaspersky (Phishing), Full List Of Detections (VirusTotal)
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. ▼ 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.

Similar scam emails in general

Phishing emails typically use urgent language to provoke immediate action and trick recipients into disclosing personal information. Also, these emails commonly contain suspicious links or attachments that can lead to fake websites or even malware infiltration. Users should recognize such emails to avoid monetary loss, identity theft, and other issues.

More examples of phishing emails are "Payment Has Been Sent", "MetaMask Wallet Verification", and "Security Token For Business Email Is Outdated".

How do spam campaigns infect computers?

When cybercriminals deliver malware via email, they do so by including infected attachments or malicious links in their emails. Opening infected files, such as documents, scripts, ISO files, executables, or other files, can lead to malware infiltration. However, malicious files may require further action from the user to cause infection.

For instance, malware embedded in Microsoft Office documents will only activate if the user enables macro commands (editing/content). Links in these fraudulent emails can direct users to websites designed to trick them into downloading malware or automatically start malware downloads without their interaction.

How to avoid installation of malware?

Before opening any email attachments or links, examine emails carefully. Avoid interacting with files or links from unknown senders, especially if the emails seem irrelevant or unexpected. Download software and files only from official websites and reputable app stores.

Do not download pirated software cracking tools or key generators or use P2P networks, third-party downloaders, free file hosting sites, unofficial pages, and similar sources for downloads. Additionally, be cautious of ads and pop-ups on suspicious websites, and regularly run system scans with a reliable security program.

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 "Maximum Mailbox Space Allowed" email letter:

Subject: Warning : Your mailbox is almost full

Your mailbox has reached 90% of the maximum space allowed on the server.

You can continue to receive e-mails, but it's recommended to free up space before reaching 100% of the maximum space allowed.
Once 100% of the occupied space , you will no longer receive messages on this account.
Also remember to empty your Trash too, to free up some space storage.

You can archive your old e-mails on your machine to conserve while freeing up space on the server.
You can also setup your e-mail account with POP protocol on a mail Software so that all e-mail are stored on your computer.

If you rely on e-mail administrator to manage your address, please contact him for more information.

Phishing website used in this scam:

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Quick menu:

• What is Maximum Mailbox Space Allowed 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?

Scammers often send identical emails to a large number of recipients, making them generic rather than personalized. They obtain email addresses through data breaches and other methods.

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

Immediately change your account password. Additionally, monitor the account for any suspicious activity and check other accounts that may use the same login information.

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

The risk of infection varies by file type. Opening executable files carries a higher risk, while document files like .pdf or .doc are usually safer since they do not automatically inject malware (they need user interaction).

I have read the email but did not open the attachment, is my computer infected?

It is safe to open and read emails without opening suspicious files or links.

Will Combo Cleaner remove malware infections that were present in email attachment?

Combo Cleaner is effective at detecting and removing most malware, but advanced malware can hide deeply within the system, so a full scan may be necessary for complete removal.

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