Warning message about deleted files

[Rachel W.11]

I have received an email alert from Dropbox, advising that I have deleted a large number of files from my Dropbox Pro account.

When I log on to the web portal, or when I look on my Mac, all of my files are still there, visible and working.  But when I check my deleted folder online, I can see a greyed out list of all of my files in that folder also.  I am not sure if they are shown both as "live" and "deleted" simultaneously because the 30 days before permanent deletion occurs hasn't expired yet?

Is this a security/macOS Sierra problem?

I haven't actively deleted any of these files.  The files include files/folders that only I access, as well as those shared with others.

I have recently updated my security settings, in case there has been some sort of hack.

Do I need to restore all of the files that are in the deleted folder? 

[Rich]

Have you moved or renamed a large folder? If so, Dropbox sees that as a deletion of one folder and the creation of a new one, which could trigger the deletion email that you received.

[Rachel W.11]

No.  The only thing that has changed in the last 24 hours is:

- updating to macOS Sierra

- transferring some documents from iCloud into Dropbox (as I prefer Dropbox as the default storage for all of my work documents)

When I check online, the entirety of the files/folders that I store on dropbox are shown in the deleted folder, so it isn't just one or even two.

[Edward H.15]

I received a similar email, indicating two deletion events involving over 12,000 files (!). As far as I know there has been no activity that would have caused this. More to the point, if I go to the Deleted Files view on the web, I see no such deletion event. Nor do I see even a single file deleted in the Event log on the date mentioned in the email. The email's links to the deletion event point to an error page.

My attempts to get an explanation for this email from tech support have been a disaster. The tech has sent me three rounds of completely irrelevant responses, still with no hypothesis as to why I got that email without any evidence of a deletion. This is over 12,000 files - I need a resolution. I'm resorting to this forum because tech support has been so very useless, and of course there's no way to actually talk to a human. (And I have a Pro account.)

Dropbox, if you're listening, could you kindly respond in a more meaningful way? At the moment I'm disgusted by the level of support on a critical issue. 

[Mark · Accepted solution]

The deleted page wouldnt show it I'm afraid (in fact I personally find that page a bit useless!). The page doesnt show 'large deletions'.... helpful eh?

Anyway!

If you havent seen files go missing and Events (www.dropbox.com/events) isnt showing them I'd assume its a system error. That, or, it was actually an email that isnt from Dropbox - some of the more recent phishing emails going round have been very authentic.

[Edward H.15]

Thanks, Mark. I don't know how to confirm whether it was a system error without Dropbox's input, obviously...and their input has been useless so far.

I did verify the origin of the email in question and it's from dropboxmail.com, which according to this article https://www.dropbox.com/en/help/9113 should be valid. The links in the email to the "deleted file events" do point to dropbox.com on https:, but they yield a 403 error telling me I need to sign in. I AM signed in...and even if I do a second signin the link fails. The only way to navigate to that deletion event would be through the Deleted Files view, which shows nothing on the date in question.

I feel like a rat in a maze at this point....but thanks for your input. Anyone else have ideas?

[Mark]

Just because it says @dropboxmail.com does not mean its come from there. Do you use Outlook for mail? Or in fact any email from a mobile device. When you are asked to input an email you can put in ANYTHING you want. Dead easy to spoof.

If the email is asking you to sign in then the email isnt relating to the account you are signed in with - so its certainly a system error, an incorrect email (phishing) or relating to a secondary account you have.

[PeterKnape]

Thanks Rich,

You are right. I moved a folder, than got a "you deleted 80 mes... ". No items in delete folder, oeoeoeoef.

Could be more intuitive :-)!