An email scam sends you an email with part of your phone number in the subject, claims your phone was hacked and says to have recorded you.
A new email scam sends you an email with an attached PDF file, shows part of your phone number in the subject, and says to have ‘backed up’ and hacked your phone.
The email message says that they have all the photos and videos on your phone, that they privately recorded you through your camera, and warns you to “read the offer” in the attached PDF file named investigation.pdf.
The attached PDF file says that they “setup malware on adult web sites that you visiited” and that they recorded you while you were watching videos.
1st part shows the video you were watching (you’ve got a good taste haha . . .), and 2nd part shows the recording of your webcam.
The message in the PDF file says that you have 4 full days to make a payment to them in Bitcoin or they will send videos of you to all your contacts including relatives, co-workers, and so on.
To be clear, this is a scam and your phone was not hacked. There are no images or videos of you visiting adult sites.
If you have never visited an adult website, you will still receive the message. If your device does not have a camera on it, the message will still claim to have taken pictures and videos of you through your camera.
Unfortunately, if you received this email or one like it, it means that your information was leaked online following a breach that occurred on websites like LinkedIn or 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 extort money from you.
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: ^Part num your Hacked phone$ [Your phone number}
From: Alert 53468
To: [Your email address]
Attachments: investigation.pdf (~3 KB)/-#_
#\I backuped your phone$!
+(All photo, video, contacts and private record cams.(\
)@Read my offer in the attached PDF file(!
/#To track the reading of a message and the actions in it, I use the facebook pixel/$
&+And at this moment I know that you have read through this email message^+
&_-@
Transcript from PDF file (attachment)
It seems that is your phone. You may not know me and you are probably wondering why you are getting this e mail, right? actually, I setup a malware on the adult vids (porno) web-site and guess what, you visited this site to have fun (you know what I mean). While you were watching videos, your internet browser started out functioning as a RDP (Remote Desktop) having a keylogger which gave me accessibility to your screen and web cam. What did I do? I backuped phone. All photo, video and contacts. I created a double-screen video. 1st part shows the video you were watching (you’ve got a good taste haha . . .), and 2nd part shows the recording of your web cam. exactly what should you do? Well, in my opinion, 700$ is a fair price for our little secret. You’ll make the payment by Bitcoin (if you do not know this, search “how to buy bitcoin” in Google). My Personal Bitcoin Address: 1AjgBp2S3GuD9pyySTZWgqsBpixDNosbDU (It is cAsE sensitive, so copy and paste it) Important: You have 4 full days in order to make the payment. (I’ve a unique pixel in this e mail, and at this moment I know that you have read through this email message). If I do not get the BitCoins, I will certainly send out your video recording to all of your contacts including relatives, coworkers, and so on. Having said that, if I receive the payment, I’ll destroy the video immidiately. If you need evidence, reply with “Yes!” and I will certainly send out your video recording to your 6 contacts. It is a non-negotiable offer, that being said don’t waste my personal time and yours by responding to this message.
Although the email message might sound frightening and seem like a real threat, it’s not. It is a confirmed scam and you have nothing to worry about. The same exact message has been sent to many people and there have been many campaigns like it in the past.
Since this is a scam and you are not in danger, DO NOT PAY THE SCAMMER. They have not backed up or hacked your phone and they have not taken photos or videos of you through your camera.
It is recommended to change the password to your email account to ensure your safety and ignore calls from unknown phone numbers.
If you would like to make sure that your computer or phone is not infected with malware, scan your device for malware and other potentially malicious files with Malwarebytes using the instructions below:
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.
Leave a Comment