How to identify fake "Held Messages — Action Recommended" emails

What kind of email is "Held Messages — Action Recommended"?

After examining this "Held Messages — Action Recommended" email, we determined that it is spam. It claims that multiple messages have been withheld from the inbox and can now be reviewed and released. The goal of this spam campaign is to trick recipients into visiting a phishing website that targets email log-in credentials.

"Held Messages — Action Recommended" email scam overview

The spam email with the subject "Action required — Release held messages for [recipient's_email_address]" (may vary) states that seven messages are on temporary hold due to delivery bandwidth limits. The recipient can review and release the emails into the inbox by following the provided links to the secure mail portal. The message alerts that accessing the portal will require authentication.

It must be emphasized that the claims made by this email are false, and this mail is not associated with any legitimate service providers.

Pressing either of the buttons in the email redirects the user to a phishing site disguised as an email account sign-in page. Log-in credentials entered into this webpage are recorded and sent to scammers. They can use hijacked accounts for a variety of nefarious purposes. Work accounts are often targeted with the aim of infecting the corporate network with trojans, ransomware, or other malware.

Through a compromised email, access might be gained to linked accounts, platforms, and services (e.g., social networking, social media, messengers, file transferring, cloud storage, e-commerce, entertainment, online banking, digital wallets, etc.). Scammers can steal the account owner's identity and ask for loans or donations, endorse scams, and proliferate malware by sharing malicious files or links. Stolen finance-related accounts can be used to make fraudulent transactions and online purchases.

To summarize, victims of spam campaigns like "Held Messages — Action Recommended" can experience system infections, severe privacy issues, financial losses, and identity theft.

If you have already disclosed your log-in credentials to a phishing website – immediately change the passwords of all potentially compromised accounts and inform their official support.

Phishing spam campaign examples

"Security And Identity-Access Improvements", "Important Service Notification - Action Required", "Document Review Request", and "UPS - Action Required for Your Shipment" are merely a few of our newest articles on phishing emails.

Information of interest can include log-in credentials, personally identifiable details, and finance-related data. Various scams are promoted through spam mail, and it is used in malware proliferation.

While spam messages are often poorly written and riddled with grammatical/spelling mistakes, this is not always the case. This mail can be competently put together and even believably disguised communications from legitimate entities (e.g., service providers, organizations, companies, institutions, authorities, etc.).

How do spam campaigns infect computers?

Spam campaigns distribute malware through infectious files. They can be attached to or linked inside the spam emails/messages. These files come in various formats, e.g., archives (ZIP, RAR, etc.), executables (EXE, RUN, etc.), documents (Microsoft Office, Microsoft OneNote, PDF, etc.), JavaScript, and so on.

Malware download/installation is jumpstarted once such a file is opened. However, some formats need additional interaction. For example, Microsoft Office files require users to enable macro commands (i.e., editing/content), while Microsoft OneNote documents need them to click on embedded links or files.

How to avoid installation of malware?

We highly recommend exercising caution with incoming emails and other messages. Attachments or links found in suspicious/irrelevant mail must not be opened, as they can be virulent.

It must be mentioned that malware is spread using various techniques. Therefore, we advise vigilance when browsing since the Internet is full of deceptive and dangerous content.

Additionally, all downloads must be made from official and verified channels. Software must be activated and updated using legitimate functions/tools, as those obtained from third-parties may contain malware.

It is paramount to have a reputable antivirus 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 "Held Messages — Action Recommended" spam email letter:

Subject: Action required — Release held messages for ********

Held messages — Action recommended

Urgent option: We temporarily held 7 messages for ******** because of delivery bandwidth limits.These messages are safe, you may review and authorize release now.

To keep your mailbox secure, we do not link directly to external sites from here. Use the button below to open your organization's secure mail portal (requires authentication) to review details and release messages.

Authorize Release
Review Messages

For security, this message was generated automatically. Your identity will be verified when you sign into the secure portal.

Why this happened
Temporary delivery throttling or policy checks may hold messages. Use the secure portal to confirm message safety and release them.

Screenshot of the phishing website promoted by the "Held Messages — Action Recommended" spam campaign:

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Quick menu:

• What is "Held Messages — Action Recommended" 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 information relevant to the recipients. Thousands of users receive identical or incredibly similar messages, as they are distributed in large-scale campaigns.

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 potentially compromised accounts and inform their official support. However, if you have disclosed other private data (e.g., ID card details, passport photos/scans, credit card numbers, etc.) – contact the appropriate authorities without delay.

I have read a spam email but didn't open the attachment, is my computer infected?

Reading an email is harmless; systems are infected when malicious attachments or links are opened/clicked.

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

Executables cause infections almost without fail upon being opened. However, some formats require additional interaction. For example, document formats may need users to enable macros, click embedded content, or perform other actions to initiate malware infiltration processes.

Will Combo Cleaner remove malware infections present in email attachments?

Combo Cleaner is capable of detecting and removing practically all known malware infections. Remember that performing a complete system scan is essential since high-end malicious software typically hides deep within systems.