A system and a method are disclosed for verifying a suspicious electronic communication. To this end, a secure communications service may detect an electronic communication comprising an identifier of a purported originator of the electronic communication and an identifier of an intended recipient, and determine that an attribute of the electronic communication corresponds to a suspicious attribute. Responsively, the service may intercept the electronic communication and storing the electronic communication in purgatory memory, so as to prevent the electronic communication from being populated in a private repository of the intended recipient, transmit a verification message, and receive a reply to the verification message that verifies the authenticity of the electronic communication. In response to receiving the reply, the service may release the electronic communication from the purgatory memory, so as to cause the electronic communication to be populated in the private repository of the intended recipient.