How to spot scams like "Storage Limit Reached"

What is "Storage Limit Reached" scam?

We have examined the email and found it to be a fraudulent message regarding the "plan's capacity status". It encourages recipients to open the provided link. Interacting with this email (by following its instructions) can lead users to misleading websites. It is highly advisable to ignore this email if you receive it.

More about the "Storage Limit Reached" scam email

This scam email claims that the user's storage is almost full. It states that 98% of the 15 GB limit has been used, and warns that syncing or backups have been paused. The email promotes a special offer to upgrade storage and gain extra space, and notes that it will expire in 24 hours.

The link labeled "Upgrade Storage Now" can open various deceptive websites. These pages present the same general claim: that there is something wrong with the storage or subscription service, and urgent action is required to prevent data loss.

They claim that the user's storage limit has been reached or exceeded, their subscription or payment method has expired or failed, cloud syncing, backups, or access to files have been paused or disabled, important data like photos and videos may be deleted, and the account may be blocked or restricted due to billing or storage issues.

They are also designed to appear urgent by mentioning final notices, limited-time offers, or countdown timers. The goal of these pages is to pressure the user into clicking a link to "renew", "upgrade", or "update" payment information.

These scam sites are designed to promote links that contain an affiliate ID. If users pay for something, create accounts, or take other actions via the provided link, scammers receive a commission. It is worth noting that, in some cases, this scam promotes legitimate products such as McAfee or XShield. Legitimate companies do not promote their services or products in such deceptive ways.

Conclusion

Overall, this scam involves fake storage or subscription alerts and urges users to act quickly. The real goal is to profit from affiliate commissions. Even when real products are promoted, the methods are deceptive and not used by legitimate companies. Recipients of fraudulent emails should ignore those messages and not open the provided websites.

Additional examples of scam emails are "Email Will Be Deactivated Due To Our Domain Update Scam", "Your Account Is Secure & Ready Email Scam", and "Your Domain Is Scheduled To Expire Email Scam". Sometimes, victims of scam emails can have their devices infected.

How do spam campaigns infect computers?

Malware is often delivered through emails, either by attaching malicious files or including deceptive links. Attackers hide malware inside files that appear normal, such as documents (e.g., PDFs or Word docs), archives, executables, scripts, or other files, and the infection usually occurs when the user opens these files (or takes additional actions).

Some emails include links that lead to fake or compromised websites. These sites can automatically download malware on devices or trick users into downloading and running it themselves.

How to avoid installation of malware?

Always be cautious with messages or emails from unknown senders, especially if they contain links or attachments, and only interact with them without confirming they are safe. Keep your operating system and all applications up to date.

Avoid clicking on suspicious ads, links, or content on unreliable websites, and do not allow untrusted sites to send you notifications. Download software only from official sources or trusted app stores, and stay away from pirated programs, cracks, or key generators.

Text presented in the "Storage Limit Reached" email letter:

Subject: Your plan's capacity status

Action Required: Sync Paused

Storage Limit Reached

You have used 98% of your storage. New files are no longer backing up.
14.8 GB Used 15 GB Limit

Special Offer

Upgrade now to get +50GB Free Space.
Upgrade Storage Now

Offer expires in 24 hours

Unsubscribe

Deceptive websites used in this scam:

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Quick menu:

• What is Storage Limit Reached 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 types of messages are generally not personalized and are sent out to many recipients at the same time. Scammers often obtain email addresses by using fake websites, data leaks, or other techniques.

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

If any login credentials were provided, they should be updated right away. If more sensitive information, such as credit card or ID details, was disclosed, the appropriate organizations or authorities should be notified.

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

If the file is an executable, such as an .exe, it can infect a system once opened. Documents like PDFs or Word files are usually less dangerous, as simply opening them does not typically cause an infection. The risk mainly depends on the file type and what actions the user takes.

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

Simply reading or viewing the message without interacting with its content is generally safe.

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

Combo Cleaner can detect and remove most malware, but more sophisticated threats may still stay hidden on the system. Running a full system scan increases the chances of finding and eliminating all malicious components.