IF YOU RECEIVE A BLACKMAIL EMAIL, PLEASE REDACT THE PERSONAL INFORMATION AND POST IT AS A COMMENT ON THIS THREAD SO THAT OTHERS WHO RECEIVE THE SAME EMAIL CAN FIND IT THROUGH GOOGLE.
BLACKMAIL EMAIL SCAMS ARE ALSO SENT VIA SMS (TEXT) AND PHYSICAL MAIL. REGARDLESS OF THE METHOD, THEY ARE SPAM AND THE POST BELOW GIVES YOU INFORMATION AND ADVICE ABOUT WHAT TO DO.
Blackmail email scams have that name because they started out as emails, however they have also been sent out via SMS and physical mail. If you are reading this because you have received one of these emails and you’re worried, you can stop worrying. The blackmail email scam is an email spam campaign that is sent out to thousands of email addresses at a time, the emails are completely false. In many cases, the emails will contain some sort of privileged information about you such as your name, part or all of your phone number, and your password. The data they use is collected from data breaches. Some emails may also include a screenshot of your desktop. The screenshots are acquired through malware often distributed through cracked software. If you received a screenshot of your desktop you should run a virus scan with something like Malwarebytes.The emails may also look like they were sent from your own email address due to email spoofing. You can use the service Have I Been Pwned? to see if you are in any publicly known data breaches. If you receive an email that contains a password that you currently use, you should immediately change that. Current recommended password guidelines say that you should use a different, complex password for every account. You can generate and save passwords using a password manager for convenience. You should also be using two factor authentication using an app like Google Authenticator instead of receiving codes through SMS.
Here are some news articles about this scam. Here is a story from Brian Krebs, and here is a story from the New York Times.
Below in the comments section are a few examples, but if you receive an email that is similar but not the same as the examples you see, that does not matter and does not mean that the email is real. The spammers constantly change up their templates in order to bypass spam filters, so it’s normal to receive an email that hasn’t yet been posted online.
EXAMPLES
Hey, some time ago your computer was infected with my private malware, RAT (Remote Administration Tool).
I know at the time of infection your passwords was: xxxxxxxxxxx
My malware gave me full access to all your accounts, contacts and it also was possible to spy on you over your webcam.
Sometimes when I was bored I was spying on you, then once you started to SATISFYING YOURSELF!
At first I didn’t knew how to react as I was shocked, then I decided to record you, I checked on google and found the software: Bandicam and it did the job.
After that I removed my malware to not leave any traces and this email was sent from some hacked account.
I can send the video of you to all your friends, contacts and publish it on social networks and the whole web.
You can stop me and only I can help you out in this situation.
Pay exactly 740$ in Bitcoin (BTC).
It’s easy to buy Bitcoin (BTC), for example here: https://paxful.com/buy-bitcoin , https://www.buybitcoinworldwide.com/ , https://www.kraken.com/ , or google another exchanger.
My Bitcoin (BTC) wallet is: xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Yes that’s how the wallet looks like, copy and paste it, it’s (cAsE-sEnSEtiVE)
I give you 3 days time to pay.
As I got access to this email account, I will know if this email has already been read, so the time is running.
After receiving the payment, I will remove the video and you can life your live in peace like before.
Learn from the mistake and update your browser before browsing the web next time!
I am a professional hacker and have successfully managed to hack your operating system. Currently I have gained full access to your account.
In addition, I was secretly monitoring all your activities and watching you for several months. The thing is your computer was infected with harmful spyware due to the fact that you had visited a website with porn content previously. ╭ ᑎ ╮
Let me explain to you what that entails. Thanks to Trojan viruses, I can gain complete access to your computer or any other device that you own. It means that I can see absolutely everything in your screen and switch on the camera as well as microphone at any point of time without your permission. In addition, I can also access and see your confidential information as well as your emails and chat messages.
You may be wondering why your antivirus cannot detect my malicious software. Let me break it down for you: I am using harmful software that is driver-based, which refreshes its signatures on 4-hourly basis, hence your antivirus is unable to detect it presence.
I have made a video compilation, which shows on the left side the scenes of you happily masturbating, while on the right side it demonstrates the video you were watching at that moment…ᵔ.ᵔ
All I need is just to share this video to all email addresses and messenger contacts of people you are in communication with on your device or PC. Furthermore, I can also make public all your emails and chat history.
I believe you would definitely want to avoid this from happening. Here is what you need to do - transfer the Bitcoin equivalent of 520 United States Dollars to my Bitcoin account (that is rather a simple process, which you can check out online in case if you don’t know how to do that).
Below is my bitcoin account information (Bitcoin wallet): Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Once the required amount is transferred to my account, I will proceed with deleting all those videos and disappear from your life once and for all. Kindly ensure you complete the abovementioned transfer within 50 hours (2 days +). I will receive a notification right after you open this email, hence the countdown will start.
Trust me, I am very careful, calculative and never make mistakes. If I discover that you shared this message with others, I will straight away proceed with making your private videos public.
Good luck!
I know xxxxxxxxxxxx is one of your password on day of hack… Lets get directly to the point.
Not one person has paid me to check about you.
You do not know me and you’re probably thinking why you are getting this email?
in fact, i actually placed a malware on the adult vids (adult porn) website and you know what, you visited this site to experience fun (you know what i mean).
When you were viewing videos, your browser started out operating as a RDP having a key logger which provided me with accessibility to your display and web cam.
immediately after that, my malware obtained every one of your contacts from your Messenger, FB, as well as email account. after that i created a double-screen video. 1st part shows the video you were viewing (you have a nice taste omg), and 2nd part displays the recording of your cam, and its you.
Best solution would be to pay me $1013.
We are going to refer to it as a donation. in this situation, i most certainly will without delay remove your video.
My -BTC -address: 1KzA7GYSyvXCmPpojZ4qTbZGmjjbbSfwBg
[case SeNSiTiVe, copy & paste it]
You could go on your life like this never happened and you will not ever hear back again from me.
You’ll make the payment via Bitcoin (if you do not know this, search ‘how to buy bitcoin’ in Google). if you are planning on going to the law, surely, this e-mail can not be traced back to me, because it’s hacked too. I have taken care of my actions. i am not looking to ask you for a lot, i simply want to be paid.
if i do not receive the bitcoin;, i definitely will send out your video recording to all of your contacts including friends and family, co-workers, and so on. Nevertheless, if i do get paid, i will destroy the recording immediately. If you need proof, reply with Yeah then i will send out your video recording to your 8 friends. it’s a nonnegotiable offer and thus please don’t waste mine time & yours by replying to this message.