A new sextortion email scam sends you an email message with your password as the subject and demands that you pay them to delete videos of you.
Another sextortion email scam is making rounds that contains your password in the subject. It may or may not appear to have been sent to you from your own account.
The email message says that someone placed software on your system and recorded you while you visited pornographic content. The message says that they gained remote control of your desktop with a key logger which gave them access to your display as well as web camera.
The email goes on to say that they took images and videos of you through the camera on your device while you were visiting pornographic websites.
The message tries frighten you into thinking that someone hacked your account and captured videos of you through your camera while you were visiting adult websites, even though none of this is true.
The email states that they will send a tape of you to your contacts including relatives, coworkers, and others if you do not pay them in Bitcoin within one day of opening the email message.
To be clear, this is a scam. Your email account was not hacked and no one sent an email to you from your own account. If it appears that someone sent you a message from your own account they used a third-party email spoofing service. Also, there are no images or videos of you while you visited adult websites.
Unfortunately, if you received this email or one like it, it means that your information was leaked online following breaches that occurred on websites like LinkedIn and Adobe. Scammers use information leaked about you (such as your email address, email account password, and telephone number) against you in order to attempt to blackmail you. We recommend that you immediately change your password if you have received this email or one like it.
To locate a breach where your information may have been leaked from check out https://haveibeenpwned.com/. You can input your email address to locate where your information was leaked.
Transcript from email message:
Subject: [email username] – [email password]
From: Angel Thurner (kpmickydur@outlook.com)
To: [your email address]I am well aware [your password] is your pass words. Lets get directly to point. None has paid me to check you. You do not know me and you are most likely thinking why you’re getting this e mail?
Well, i placed a software on the xxx streaming (pornographic material) web-site and there’s more, you visited this site to experience fun (you know what i mean). When you were viewing video clips, your web browser started out functioning as a Remote control Desktop with a key logger which gave me access to your display as well as web camera. Right after that, my software obtained every one of your contacts from your Messenger, Facebook, and email . Next i created a double-screen video. First part shows the video you were viewing (you’ve got a nice taste lol), and next part shows the recording of your webcam, yeah it is u.
You will have 2 possibilities. We should go through each of these possibilities in aspects:
1st alternative is to disregard this message. as a result, i most certainly will send your very own tape to every one of your contacts and thus imagine regarding the shame you can get. Furthermore in case you are in an intimate relationship, just how it will eventually affect?
2nd solution is to compensate me $ 860. Let us describe it as a donation. in this scenario, i will right away eliminate your video. You will carry on with your way of life like this never occurred and you would never hear back again from me.
You’ll make the payment through Bitcoin (if you do not know this, search ‘how to buy bitcoin’ in Google search engine).
BTC address: 1MCjpZtMWmAvN3mPijKpUC9uRBxpwQ9nD7
[case-sensitive so copy & paste it]in case you are wondering about going to the authorities, okay, this e mail can not be traced back to me. I have dealt with my steps. i am also not trying to ask you for so much, i simply want to be paid for. i’ve a unique pixel in this message, and at this moment i know that you have read through this e-mail. You now have one day to pay. if i don’t get the BitCoins, i will certainly send out your video to all of your contacts including relatives, co-workers, and many others. However, if i do get paid, i will destroy the video immediately. it’s a non-negotiable offer therefore don’t waste my personal time and yours by replying to this e mail. if you want to have proof, reply with Yup & i definitely will send out your video to your 14 friends.
Although this might sound frightening and seem real, it is a confirmed scam. Your account was not accessed by anyone, there is not remote software on your system, and no one captured you through your camera. The same exact message has been sent to many people and there have been many campaigns like it in the past. For example, a previous email claims that a spyware software developer hacked your account and shows you the past or current password to your email account.
If you have never visited an adult website, you will still receive the same message. If your device does not have a camera, the message will still claim to have recorded you through your camera.
Since this is a scam and you are not in danger please DO NOT PAY THE SCAMMER. They have not accessed your email account and they have not taken photos or videos of you. The only thing that you need to do is change the password to your email address and other accounts you have to ensure your safety.
The email message does not mean that your computer is infected with malware if you received this email message or one like it; However, if you would like to scan your computer for malware and other potentially malicious files to make sure that your computer is clean we recommended to use Malwarebytes.
Here are some instructions to scan your computer for malware and remove malware if found:
1. Download Malwarebytes Anti-Malware software to scan your computer and remove malicious files and potentially unwanted programs.
2. To install the program, click the file you just downloaded. It can usually be located in the Download folder.
3. A window that says “Welcome to the Malwarebytes Setup Wizard” will appear. Click Agree and Install to begin the installation. Once complete, click Finish.
4. Now the Malwarebytes is installed, open the program and click the Scan Now button – or go to the Scan tab and click the Start Scan button.
3. When the scan is complete click the Quarantine Selected button.
4. If Malwarebytes says “All selected items have been removed successfully. A log file has been saved to the logs folder. Your computer needs to be restarted to complete the removal process. Would you like to restart now?” click the Yes button to restart your computer.
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