A new sextortion email scam claims that your account was under attack and a hacker has been watching you for months. The email message says that a hacker has full access to your computer screen, microphone, and camera and that they recorded video of you through your camera.
To enhance the potency of the scam, the scammers will send their targets an email message from their own email address and the message will show the target’s password ‘at the time of hacking.’ This makes it appear as if they alleged hacker actually does have access to the email account even though they don’t. A third-party email spoofing service or tool was used to make it appear as if someone else had access to your email account.
As previously mentioned, the email message shows the target’s previous or current password and this can be a concern. How did the sender know such sensitive details? The truth is that a lot of sensitive information is floating around online and can be easily obtained and used against people. Information such as your name, email address, home address, telephone number, email address, and passwords are at risk of being leaked online and if you have received an email message such as the one we are discussing that contains your past or current password, it’s a solid indication that your sensitive information was leaked online following a breach that occurred on a third-party website such as Adobe, Myspace, or LinkedIn.
To locate which breach your information may have been leaked from go to https://haveibeenpwned.com/ and submit your email address to receive a free detailed report.
The purpose of this elaborate email scam is to scare victims around the world so that they will pay the scammer the requested amount of Bitcoin. The email message suggests that an intimate video of you was recorded through your device and in order to have the video deleted you must pay the alleged hacker. If you do not pay the alleged hacker they will send the video to your contacts including your friends, family members, and colleagues.
It should be noted that this is a scam and you should avoid paying the scammers. A lot of people will receive the same email message, even people who do not have cameras. Nothing will happen if you ignore these type of email messages; However, since your sensitive information may have been leaked online you should take steps to change your online credentials.
To ensure that your email account and online information remains private and secure I strongly advise you to change the passwords to your online accounts immediately. Here are a few best practices when making a new secure password:
- Do not reuse the same password for multiple accounts. Use unique passwords wherever possible.
- Use strong passwords with numbers, letters, and special characters such as !@$#.
- Use two-factor authentication to add an extra layer of security along with your password.
- Use a reputable password manager if you have trouble remembering multiple passwords.
This is a transcript of the email message, please note that the one you receive may be different:
From: You
To: Your password
Date Today 2:49 am
Hi!As you may have noticed, I sent you an email from your account.
This means that I have full access to your account: At the time of hacking your account(your email address) had this password: your password
You can say: this is my, but old password!
Or: I can change my password at any time!
Of course! You will be right,
but the fact is that when you change the password, my malicious code every time saved a new one!
I’ve been watching you for a few months now.
But the fact is that you were infected with malware through an adult site that you visited.
If you are not familiar with this, I will explain.
Trojan Virus gives me full access and control over a computer or other device.
This means that I can see everything on your screen, turn on the camera and microphone, but you do not know about it.
I also have access to all your contacts and all your correspondence from e-mail and messangers.
Why your antivirus did not detect my malware?
Answer: My malware uses the driver, I update its signatures every 4 hours so that your antivirus is silent.
I made a video showing how you satisfy yourself in the left half of the screen, and in the right half you see the video that you watched.
With one click of the mouse, I can send this video to all your emails and contacts on social networks. I can also post access to all your e-mail correspondence and messengers that you use.
If you want to prevent this, transfer the amount of $740 to my bitcoin address (if you do not know how to do this, write to Google: “Buy Bitcoin”).
My bitcoin address (BTC Wallet) is: 1GB22WpNfFPcAYnad1Sd3qWoVJeDbtN72M
After receiving the payment, I will delete the video and you will never hear me again.
I give you 48 hours to pay.
I have a notice reading this letter, and the timer will work when you see this letter.
Filing a complaint somewhere does not make sense because this email cannot be tracked like my bitcoin address.
I do not make any mistakes.
If I find that you have shared this message with someone else, the video will be immediately distributed.
Bye!
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