How to spot scams like 'Your Mailbox Needs Attention"

What kind of scam is "Your Mailbox Needs Attention"?

Our analysis indicates that this email is a phishing attempt posing as a message from the email service provider. Its purpose is to trick recipients into clicking the link and submitting personal information on a fraudulent website. It is important to be careful when receiving scam emails and avoid interacting with them.

More about the "Your Mailbox Needs Attention" scam email

The recipient is informed that their mailbox requires attention and that several new messages are waiting on the server. The email urges the recipient to review the messages immediately and warns that they may be deleted shortly. It also provides a link labeled "Access Your Messages" to access the messages. This link leads to a fake website disguised as a login page.

The website is a fraudulent page designed to collect email addresses and passwords. Any information entered is stolen by scammers, who can then use it to gain access to the victim's email account. Once inside, fraudsters can read emails, send deceptive messages to others, distribute malware, or carry out other activities.

If the same or similar login credentials are used for other accounts, such as social media, online banking, or gaming, these may also be at risk. Unauthorized access can result in financial loss, identity theft, or other issues. Thus, users should carefully scrutinize suspicious emails and avoid clicking on links or sharing sensitive information.

Conclusion

This email is a phishing attempt designed to steal login credentials through a fake website. Scammers can use captured information to access the victim's email and potentially other accounts, leading to risks such as financial loss, identity theft, or further fraudulent activity. It is important to be mention that scam emails can sometimes be used to deliver malware.

More examples of fraudulent emails are "Mail Cloud System Update Email Scam", "IMAP/POP3 Mail Server Verification Failure Email Scam", and "Storage Usage Alert Email Scam".

How do spam campaigns infect computers?

Deceptive emails that deliver malware contain links or attachments. These attachments can be infected PDFs, Word or Excel files, executables, compressed files (e.g., ZIP or RAR), scripts, or other file types capable of dropping malware when opened. Some require the user to take extra steps before the malware runs.

Links in such emails may direct users to unsafe or fraudulent websites that either automatically download malware or deceive users into downloading and executing malicious software themselves.

How to avoid installation of malware?

Users should only download software from legitimate sources, such as official websites or recognized app stores, and avoid pirated programs, cracks, or key generators. Keeping the operating system and applications up to date and running regular scans with trusted security tools helps protect devices from threats.

Suspicious emails or messages from unknown sources should be treated with caution. Attachments or links should not be opened. Questionable pop-ups, ads, buttons, or other content on shady websites should be ignored, and notifications from such sites should be blocked.

Text presented in the "Your Mailbox Needs Attention" email letter:

Subject:

Your Mailbox Needs Attention

e-Mail-ID: ********

You have (3) new messages waiting in your ******** server that require your action to access.

Please review them as soon as possible to ensure you don't miss important information. Messages may be removed after 12 hours if not accessed.

Access Your Messages

This message is intended solely for ********

© 2026 ******** . All rights reserved.

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Quick menu:

• What is Your Mailbox Needs Attention 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?

These messages are usually not personalized with names or specific details (they are not targeted and sent to numerous addresses). The email addresses used are commonly obtained through data leaks, fraudulent websites, or other collection methods.

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

If an account is believed to be compromised, users should take steps to secure it (change the password) and alert authorities if personal or financial data might have been exposed.

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

Whether a computer is infected depends on the file format and how it is handled. Executables and scripts can immediately start malicious activity, while other files only become risky if certain features are enabled.

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

Emails do not cause infections on their own. Malware is usually triggered when a user interacts with links, attachments, or other elements.

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

While Combo Cleaner is effective at detecting and removing the majority of threats, advanced or concealed malware may only be eliminated using the app's full scan option.