How to spot fake emails like "Security Restrictions"

What is "Security Restrictions" scam?

Our analysis shows that this is a phishing email disguised as a notification from the email service provider. It is used to trick recipients into opening a fake website and entering personal information on it. Falling for this scam can lead to account hijacking and possibly other negative outcomes.

More about the "Security Restrictions" scam email

This email claims to be from a mail server administrator and states that email delivery has been stopped due to supposed security restrictions. It tells the recipient that messages are being held and suggests that their system is blocking incoming mail. It also provides fake account details and status information.

The goal is to trick the recipient into clicking options like "Allow Message" or "Review Message", which are links designed to open a deceptive page. This website imitates the design of the recipient's email provider. For instance, Gmail users are presented with a fake Gmail login page.

Its purpose is to extract email addresses and passwords (email account login details). With this information, fraudsters can access email accounts and exploit them to send phishing emails, distribute malware, send spam, collect sensitive information, and more. They can also sell the stolen accounts to other cybercriminals.

Moreover, scammers can attempt to access social media, banking, gaming, or other services using the stolen login details. Thus, it is important to ignore suspicious emails and avoid opening links (or files) found in them, or disclosing personal information on shady sites.

Conclusion

In conclusion, this scam email attempts to pressure the recipient into clicking links by claiming their messages are being held. Its goal is to steal login information. Users should ignore and delete messages like this and avoid interacting with any links or other content. Sometimes, such emails can lead to malware.

Some examples of similar scams are "Suspicious Activity Detected", "Invoice Payment Confirmation", and "Maersk - Shipping Documents And Arrival Notice".

How do spam campaigns infect computers?

Cybercriminals often use email to spread malware, hiding it in files that appear legitimate. Common examples include Office documents, executable files (.exe), PDFs, compressed archives (ZIP, RAR), script files, and other file types. The malicious code typically only activates when the recipient opens the file or performs additional actions.

Emails can also contain links to fraudulent or compromised websites. Visiting these sites may either start a malware download automatically or trick the user into downloading and running it manually. In every case, the malware can only be executed after the recipient interacts with the file or link.

How to avoid installation of malware?

Be cautious when browsing the web and avoid clicking on pop-ups, ads, links, or buttons on untrusted websites. Always download files and software only from reliable sources (official pages or reputable app stores), and keep your operating system and applications up to date.

Do not open attachments or follow links in unexpected, irrelevant emails or messages from unknown senders. Avoid using pirated software or cracking tools, and never allow suspicious sites to send notifications. Additionally, perform regular scans using reliable antivirus or anti-malware software.

Text presented in the "Security Restrictions" email letter:

Subject: Email Delivery Status Held

Postmaster

********

Recipient: planning

We're reaching out to let you know that we were unable to deliver some message(s) to your email address due to security restrictions on your mail server.

It appears that your system settings is currently blocking incoming messages.

Account Information:

Email Address: ********

Status: Held
Allow Message
Review Message

2025. All Rights Reserved.

Phishing website used in this scam:

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Quick menu:

• What is Security Restrictions 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?

The scam email was sent because the sender probably obtained your address from a data breach, fake site, or another source. Usually, emails like this are not personal.

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

Update any passwords that may have been exposed. If an account cannot be accessed, contact the support.

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

Email attachments can be dangerous and may infect systems if opened or other actions are taken. For example, malicious executables can infect systems once opened, but documents often require macros to be enabled so that malware can infiltrate a system.

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

Reading the email poses no threat, but interacting with attachments or links can put your system at risk.

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

Combo Cleaner is capable of detecting and removing almost all known malware. Because some advanced threats can hide deep within the system, running a full system scan is recommended.