Avoid having your email account stolen via fake "Repair Response" emails

What kind of email is "Repair Response"?

After inspecting the "Repair Response" email, we determined that it is spam. This fake letter claims that multiple messages failed to reach the recipient's inbox due to an error caused by a server outage.

"Repair Response" promotes a phishing website disguised as an email account sign-in page. Hence, by trusting this spam mail – the user can have their email account stolen and experience other serious issues.

"Repair Response" email scam overview

The scam email with the subject "Mail Delivery Failed!!" (may vary) states that eleven incoming messages are pending delivery to the recipient's inbox. The mail failed to arrive due to an error caused by a server outage. The recipient is urged to click the buttons presented in this spam email to authenticate their session and repair the account.

Following these instructions results in a redirect to a phishing site disguised as an email sign-in webpage. It states that re-authentication is required, which necessitates the visitor to sign in. Phishing sites record entered information and send it to scammers.

In addition to losing the exposed email, the victim can have the content registered through it stolen as well. To expand upon the potential misuse, cyber criminals can steal the identities of social account owners (e.g., emails, social media, messengers, etc.) and ask the contacts/friends for loans or donations, promote scams, and proliferate malware.

Hijacked finance-related accounts (e.g., online banking, e-commerce, money transferring, digital wallets, etc.) can be used to make fraudulent transactions and/or online purchases.

Furthermore, any confidential or compromising information/content found on data storage or similar platforms – can be used for blackmail or other nefarious purposes.

To summarize, victims of scam mail like "Repair Response" may experience severe privacy issues, financial losses, and even identity theft.

If you have already provided your log-in credentials – immediately change the passwords of all possibly compromised accounts and inform their official support.

Threat Summary:

Name	"Repair Response" phishing email
Threat Type	Phishing, Scam, Social Engineering, Fraud
Fake Claim	Multiple emails failed to reach the recipient's inbox due to an error.
Related Domains	rapeair[.]com
Detection Names (rapeair[.]com)	Combo Cleaner (Malware), ESET (Phishing), Fortinet (Phishing), G-Data (Malware), Sophos (Phishing), Full List Of Detections (VirusTotal)
Serving IP Address (rapeair[.]com)	172.67.182.184
Symptoms	Unauthorized online purchases, changed online account passwords, identity theft, illegal access of the computer.
Distribution methods	Deceptive emails, rogue online pop-up ads, search engine poisoning techniques, misspelled domains.
Damage	Loss of sensitive private information, monetary loss, identity theft.
Malware Removal (Windows)	To eliminate possible malware infections, scan your computer with legitimate antivirus software. Our security researchers recommend using Combo Cleaner. ▼ Download Combo Cleaner To use full-featured product, you have to purchase a license for Combo Cleaner. 7 days free trial available. Combo Cleaner is owned and operated by Rcs Lt, the parent company of PCRisk.com read more.

Phishing spam campaign examples

We have analyzed thousands of spam emails; "Sign In Credentials Is Set To Expire", "Nehmeh Purchase Order", and "Adobe PDF Shared" are merely a few examples of ones used for phishing.

This mail can target a wide variety of data, e.g., log-in credentials, personally identifiable details, and finance-related information (online bank log-in credentials, banking account details, credit card numbers, etc.).

Spam emails are also used to promote scams and even to proliferate malware. These letters may be basic or elaborately disguised as messages from genuine service providers, companies, organizations, institutions, authorities, and other entities.

How do spam campaigns infect computers?

Spam emails/messages can include malicious files as attachments or download links. These files can be documents (Microsoft Office, Microsoft OneNote, PDF, etc.), archives (ZIP, RAR, etc.), executables (.exe, .run, etc.), JavaScript, and so forth.

When a virulent file is executed, run, or otherwise opened – the infection chain is initiated. For example, Microsoft Office documents infect devices by executing malicious macro commands, while infectious OneNote files need users to click embedded files/links.

How to avoid installation of malware?

We strongly advise being cautious with incoming emails, PMs/DMs, SMSes, and other messages. Attachments or links found in suspect mail must not be opened, as they can be virulent. It is important to use Microsoft Office versions released after 2010 since their "Protected View" mode prevents automatic macro execution.

However, malware is not distributed exclusively through spam mail. Therefore, we also advise being careful while browsing, as fake and dangerous online content usually appears legitimate and harmless.

Another recommendation is to download only from official and verified sources. Additionally, all programs must be activated and updated using genuine functions/tools, as illegal activation tools ("cracks") and third-party updaters can contain malware.

We must emphasize that having a reputable anti-virus installed and kept up-to-date is paramount to device/user safety. Security software must be used to run regular system scans and to remove detected threats. If you've already opened malicious attachments, we recommend running a scan with Combo Cleaner Antivirus for Windows to automatically eliminate infiltrated malware.

Text presented in the "Repair Response" spam email letter:

Subject: Mail Delivery Failed!!

This email is marked secure from ******** automated alert.

Repair Response

Hello ********.

You have pending (11) incoming emails stuck on the mailing server.

Due to our server outage an error occured .

We suggest that you kindly use the portal below to authenticate your session.

failed ******** mailbox.

Repair ********
Re-authenticate your session

Thank you,

******** SUPP0RT ADMIN.

Screenshot of the phishing website promoted by the "Repair Response" spam campaign:

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▼ DOWNLOAD Combo Cleaner By downloading any software listed on this website you agree to our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use. To use full-featured product, you have to purchase a license for Combo Cleaner. 7 days free trial available. Combo Cleaner is owned and operated by Rcs Lt, the parent company of PCRisk.com read more.

Quick menu:

• What is "Repair Response" 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?

Cyber criminals distribute spam emails in massive campaigns. Hence, thousands of users receive identical messages which are not personal.

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

If you have disclosed your log-in credentials – change the passwords of all possibly compromised accounts and inform their official support without delay. If the provided/exposed data was of a different personal nature (e.g., ID card details, passport photos/scans, credit card numbers, etc.) – immediately contact the appropriate authorities.

I have read a spam email but didn't open the attachment, is my computer infected?

Systems are infected when malicious attachments or links are opened/clicked. Therefore, merely opening/reading an email is harmless.

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

If the opened file was an executable (.exe, .run, etc.) – most likely, yes – your device has been infected. However, document formats (.doc, .xls, .one, .pdf, etc.) may need additional interaction to start downloading/installing malware (e.g., enabling macro commands, clicking embedded content, etc.).

Will Combo Cleaner remove malware infections present in email attachments?

Yes, Combo Cleaner is designed to detect and eliminate all manner of threats, including practically all known malware infections. Note that since high-end malicious software usually hides deep within systems – running a full system scan is crucial.

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