diff --git a/sm/verify.c b/sm/verify.c
index e83a24f44..f5d7341ef 100644
--- a/sm/verify.c
+++ b/sm/verify.c
@@ -756,7 +756,12 @@ gpgsm_verify (ctrl_t ctrl, int in_fd, int data_fd, estream_t out_fp)
       char numbuf[50];
       sprintf (numbuf, "%d", rc );
       gpgsm_status2 (ctrl, STATUS_ERROR, "verify.leave",
-                     numbuf, NULL);
+                     numbuf,
+                     gpg_err_code (rc) == GPG_ERR_EPIPE?
+                     "-- (Broken pipe on input or output)":
+                     gpg_err_code (rc) == GPG_ERR_EOF?
+                     "-- (End of file)" : NULL,
+                     NULL);
     }
 
   return rc;