How to spot scams like "Messages Delivery Failure" email scam
Written by Tomas Meskauskas on (updated)
What is "Messages Delivery Failure"?
Our team has examined this letter and found that it is a phishing email. The fraudsters behind this scam email aim to trick recipients into opening a fake website and providing sensitive information. Thus, it is strongly recommended to ignore this scam (mark the email as spam and delete it).
More about the "Messages Delivery Failure" scam email
This scam email is disguised as a letter from an email service provider regarding message delivery failure. It claims that the server stopped the delivery of messages, and three messages could not be sent since the specified time and date. The email instructs recipients to click the "Review" or "Delete" hyperlink to review or delete pending messages.
Clicking the provided hyperlinks opens a deceptive page disguised as an email account login page (a phishing website). Scammers behind this site aim to steal email account passwords. They may use stolen email accounts to access sensitive information, send scam emails, deliver malware, etc., and (or) sell them to third parties.
Moreover, crooks may try to use stolen passwords to access other accounts. Depending on the type of those accounts, they could be used to steal identities, make fraudulent purchases, transactions, and more. Thus, it is highly advisable to avoid entering information on suspicious pages (especially when they are promoted via emails like "Messages Delivery Failure").
| Name | Messages Delivery Failure Email Scam |
| Threat Type | Phishing, Scam, Social Engineering, Fraud |
| Fake Claim | Delivery of messages is stopped by the email server. |
| Disguise | Letter from the 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
Most phishing emails are disguised as letters from legitimate entities (e.g., companies, organizations, service providers, etc.) Scammers use them to trick recipients into providing personal information (e.g., credit card details, login credentials, ID card information, etc.).
Examples of similar scam emails are "Session Validation Error Email Scam", "CFDI Manager Emisión Email Scam", and "Mailbox Software Update Email Scam". Cybercriminals use email not only to extract sensitive information but also to trick recipients into infecting their computers.
How do spam campaigns infect computers?
Recipients infect computers via malicious links or attachments (files) presented in emails sent by threat actors. Most cybercriminals use malicious MS Office, PDF documents, executables, archives (like ZIP, RAR, and others), JavaScript files, or ISO files to distribute malware.
Different files infect computers in different ways. For instance, Malicious MS Office documents infect computers after enabling macros commands. Executables infect computers immediately after executing them.
How to avoid installation of malware?
Do not trust irrelevant emails received from suspicious/unknown addresses. Opening files or links in emails of this kind can result in computer infection. Keep the installed software up to date. Activate and update it with tools or functions provided by the official developers.
Download software (and files) from official websites. Always use direct download links. Use a reputable antivirus solution for computer protection. 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 Delivery Failure" email letter:
Subject: Incoming mail delivery failed
Messages Delivery Failure
The delivery of messages was stopped by the ********* Mail-Server
You have 3 pending messages that could not be sent as of 12/12/2022 4:23:20 p.m. (UTC).Click to Review or Delete pending outgoing e-mail messages.
Mail account:
*********Thanks,
********* Administrator
This notification was sent to *********; Don't want occasional updates about subscription preferences and friendly suggestions?
Another example of an email from this spam campaign:
Text presented within:
Subject: Mail Delivery Failure: Undelivered Pending Emails
Message Delivery Failure Notice
********
You have (9) undelivered incoming messages
Allow Message
Review Message
******** Notification
Please do not reply to this email, as we are not able to respond to messages sent to this address
Screenshot of the promoted phishing site designed to imitate recipient's email service provider:
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Quick menu:
- What is Messages Delivery Failure 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?
Usually, scammers send the same letter to all recipients hoping that someone will fall for it. In other words, phishing emails are not personal.
I have provided my personal information when tricked by this email, what should I do?
Change your passwords as soon as possible (especially if the email account password can be used to access other accounts).
I have downloaded and opened a malicious file attached to an email, is my computer infected?
If you have opened an executable file, your computer is probably infected. In other cases (e.g., if you have opened a malicious MS Office document), you may have avoided executing malware.
I have read the email but didn't open the attachment, is my computer infected?
No, it is safe to open emails without clicking links or opening files in them.
Will Combo Cleaner remove malware infections that were present in email attachment?
Combo Cleaner includes an antivirus scanner. It can detect almost all known malware. In order to detect and remove high-end malware, it is required to run a full system scan. Usually, high-end malware hides deep in the system.
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