How to spot scams like "Mail Services Notification - Delivery Delay Notice"

What kind of scam is "Mail Services Notification - Delivery Delay Notice"?

Our team has reviewed the email and found it to be a phishing attempt. This is a scam email disguised as an important notification from the email service provider. Fraudsters behind it seek to lure recipients into a fake website. Their goal is to steal personal information through that deceptive site.

More about the "Mail Services Notification - Delivery Delay Notice" scam email

This email is a fraudulent delivery delay notice that impersonates a legitimate mail service. It claims that several messages addressed to the recipient could not be delivered due to security or policy restrictions and are pending administrative review. It provides a fake list of "held" messages, such as invoice notifications, quote requests, and business inquiries.

The email urges the recipient to review delivery details or update mail settings through the provided links labeled "Review Delivery Details" and "Update Mail Settings". Its purpose is to trick the recipient into opening a fake website. During our analysis, the site provided in this scam was down.

However, emails like this one usually direct users to fake email account login pages designed to steal email addresses and passwords. Scammers can misuse stolen details to hijack email accounts. Those accounts can be used to send scam emails, distribute malware, gather personal information from email addresses, or engage in other malicious activities.

Also, scammers can try to hijack other accounts (including social media, banking, and gaming) using the pilfered login details. In such cases, victims may encounter issues like identity theft and monetary loss. Thus, this and similar scam emails should be ignored to avoid negative outcomes.

Conclusion

In conclusion, this email is a phishing attempt designed to steal login credentials by mimicking a legitimate service. Interacting with its links or providing any personal information can lead to account compromise, identity theft, and financial loss. Sometimes, falling for such scams can result in computer infections.

Examples of similar scams are "Mail Cloud System Update Email Scam", "IMAP/POP3 Mail Server Verification Failure Email Scam", and "Storage Usage Alert Email Scam". Recipients should ignore such emails and avoid clicking any included links.

How do spam campaigns infect computers?

Fraudulent emails can compromise devices through malicious links or attachments. These attachments might be Excel, Word, or other documents, PDFs, executables, compressed files, scripts, or disk images that, when opened, can deploy malware. It is important to note that not all malicious files can infect systems immediately upon opening.

Furthermore, links in deceptive emails can take users to compromised or deceptive websites that either automatically download malware or trick users into downloading and running it themselves.

How to avoid installation of malware?

Avoid interacting with pop-ups, ads, buttons, or links on untrustworthy websites, and never use pirated software, cracks, or key generators. Always obtain programs from official websites or reputable app stores, and keep your operating system and applications up to date.

Be cautious with unexpected emails or messages from unknown senders, avoiding any attachments or links they include, and regularly scan your device using trusted security software.

Text presented in the "Mail Services Notification - Delivery Delay Notice" email letter:

Subject: Delivery Delay Notice

Mail Services Notification
Automated System Message • Do Not Reply
Delivery Delay Notice

One or more messages addressed to ******** could not be delivered due to security or policy restrictions enforced by the receiving mail server.
The messages listed below are currently held and pending administrative review.
Recipient Subject Date
******** Invoice Notification – Ref #10492 03 Feb 2026
******** Quote Request – Project Review 31 Jan 2026
******** New Business Enquiry 30 Jan 2026

Message details shown above are provided for demonstration purposes only.
Review Delivery Details Update Mail Settings
This automated notification was generated by a mail delivery system.
© 2026 Mail Services · Training & Demonstration Use

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:

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.

Quick menu:

• What is Mail Services Notification - Delivery Delay Notice phishing attempt?
• 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?

These emails are typically sent to a wide range of recipients simultaneously. The addresses are often gathered from leaked or compromised databases or other sources. These messages are usually generic and not personalized.

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

If passwords have been compromised, users should update them right away and alert the relevant authorities if sensitive data such as financial information has been exposed.

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

Thee risk level depends on the file type and the actions taken by the user. Executables or scripts can launch malware as soon as they are opened, whereas most documents cannot deploy malware unless features like macros are activated.

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

Malware typically needs the user to perform an action, such as opening an attachment or clicking a link, to infect a device. Reading an email alone does not pose a threat.

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

Combo Cleaner can remove most know threats, but more advanced infections may require a full system scan to ensure complete elimination.