Remove “Mailbox Problem Identified” email

The “Mailbox Problem Identified” email is part of a phishing campaign that aims to steal users’ email login credentials. The email falsely claims that problems with recipients’ email accounts have been detected, and access may be interrupted if the issues are not fixed. The email wants users to click on the provided button, which would lead them to a fake email login page. If users try to log in to this phishing site, their credentials will be stolen. This may allow malicious actors to access users’ email accounts.

 

 

The “Mailbox Problem Identified” email is practically identical to the “Mailbox Issue Identified” malicious email. Considering the contents and design are more or less the same, it’s more than likely that both campaigns are operated by the same cybercriminals. This “Mailbox Problem Identified” claims that a problem has been detected in your mailbox. You supposedly need to fix the issue to avoid interruptions with your account.

The email prompts you to log in via a “Login Now” button to resolve the detected issue and avoid any interruptions to your account. However, this button leads to a phishing website designed to closely resemble an official email service provider’s site, which can easily mislead unsuspecting users. If users enter their login information on this phishing site, their credentials will be stolen, giving cybercriminals access to their email accounts, especially if no additional security measures (e.g., multi-factor authentication) are in place.

Email credentials are particularly valuable to malicious actors. For one, if users use the same email accounts for years and do not delete emails, the accounts would have a lot of personal information and private conversations that could be used for various purposes by malicious actors. What’s more, email accounts are often connected to many other accounts. Thus, hijacking an email account could allow malicious actors to access connected accounts as well.

If you’ve fallen victim to this phishing campaign, you need to change your password right away, if you still have access to your account. If you can’t access your account and all account recovery options fail, you should disconnect the compromised email address from all linked accounts to prevent them from being hijacked as well.

The full “Mailbox Problem Identified” email phishing email is below:

Subject: – Mail Problem Resolved

MAILBOX PROBLEM IDENTIFIED

Dear -,

An problem has been detected in your mailbox at -.
To maintain secure and uninterrupted communication, please log in promptly to address and fix the issue.

LOGIN NOW

This is an automated mail alert from the email protection system of -.

Signs of a phishing email

If an unsolicited email asks that you open an attachment or click on a link, take the time to inspect the email before you do anything else. The first thing you should check is the sender’s email address. If the sender claims to be from a known company but their email address looks random and unprofessional, the email is likely malicious. Even if an address looks legitimate, it’s recommended to verify that it belongs to whomever the sender claims to be/represent. It’s usually enough to use a search engine. It’s also worth mentioning that some malicious actors use clever tactics to make their addresses seem legitimate, such as substituting letters (e.g., using “rn” instead of “m”) or adding extra characters to imitate trusted sources. In this particular case, the “Mailbox Problem Identified” email is an obvious phishing attempt as the sender’s email address clearly does not belong to your email service provider.

Also, pay attention to obvious grammar and spelling mistakes in emails that appear to come from reputable companies or service providers. Many phishing emails have loads of mistakes and are written quite awkwardly, which immediately gives them away. The “Mailbox Problem Identified” email does not have obvious spelling mistakes, but the phrasing does sound rather awkward, so it’s clearly not an email sent by your email service provider.

You should always take your time when reviewing emails and never rush into clicking on links or opening attachments. You can hover your mouse over buttons to check where they lead before clicking. Any unsolicited attachments should be scanned with anti-virus software or checked on VirusTotal to ensure they are malware-free before opening them. It’s also a good idea to avoid clicking on links in emails entirely. If you receive an email regarding an issue with your account that requests you to click a link, simply log into your account manually instead of following the link provided.

Phishing campaigns often target a large number of users with generic emails, making them fairly easy to identify. More sophisticated attacks focus on certain, high-ranking individuals or organizations and are significantly more personalized. These tailored emails can be highly convincing and might deceive even the most careful users under the right circumstances. Fortunately, most users are not typically the targets of such advanced phishing attempts. By being able to recognize common signs of phishing, users can often avoid becoming victims.