What is How Schemers Can Use Your Real Password to Blackmail You?
It is a scary thing to find a real password sent to you via email by schemers because that indicates that your virtual security has been jeopardized. If you receive an email like that, the first thing you need to do is think if that password is still in use. If it is, you must change it immediately because there is no doubt that it has been leaked. Whether that happened during a massive data breach or because you were tricked using a phishing scam, you need to take care of your virtual security first. If the password sent to you along with an intimidating message is no longer in use, the chances are that you are safe. Most likely, the password linked to your email account has been discovered during a data breach that happened a long time ago. If that is the case, you should not pay attention to the message.
What is the purpose behind the porn blackmail scam?
The purpose is pretty clear: Schemers want to intimidate you and push you into paying a humongous ransom. While there are several different versions of this sextortion scam email, all of them are meant to convince you that you were caught watching porn on camera. According to the Interpol, sextortion is a form of blackmail in which sexual information or images are used to extort sexual favors and/or money from the victim. The fictitious email is meant to make you believe that schemers own a video recording of you and that they have the power to send it to all of your friends, colleagues, and other people you know. This could be enough to convince you to pay a ransom in return for the alleged removal of the video. Even if the video existed, how could you trust schemers to delete it? You couldn’t. Hopefully, that is not something you need to worry about because the video does not exist in the first place.
How big is the sextortion scam ransom?
The sum of the ransom varies depending on the version of the scam, but it can go from hundreds to thousands of US Dollars. Pastebin provided a list of Bitcoin addresses that are linked to sextortion scams. At this time, there are over 300 unique addresses recorded, and 30 Bitcoins (crypto-currency in which the ransom must be paid) has already been transferred to them. 30 BTC coverts to around 200,000-250,000 USD. Undoubtedly, the success of the scam must have attracted even more schemers, who can use the same email template to extort money from more gullible users. Without a doubt, the list of emails used to deliver the scam is endless, as the same schemer can create multiple accounts to operate the scam. In fact, one single party could be using different Bitcoin wallets and unique emails to scam more users. Overall, there are many variables when it comes to the scam, and the sum of the ransom is one of them.
What does the porn blackmail email say?
First and foremost, the message displays the obtained password. In some cases, a telephone number can be used instead. Next, it informs about the video that was, allegedly, recorded while the victim watched porn. The message also informs that malware has “gathered all […] contacts from your Messenger, Facebook account, and email account.” The sextortion email then proceeds to introduce the victim to the Bitcoin wallet address and the sum that, allegedly, needs to be transferred in Bitcoins for the video to be deleted. It is suggested that if the victim did not follow the instructions, the video would be sent to the contacts that were gathered. Because the scam contains information only the user should know (e.g., the password), they might be tricked into believing that the video truly exists and that it would be leaked if the ransom was not paid. Since the sextortion scam message is likely to be fictitious, paying attention to the intimidating demands is not something you should do.
What should you do if you receive a sextortion email?
As discussed earlier, the first thing you must do is change the password if the one represented via the porn blackmail email is still in use. Next, you want to call the police and report the incident because you do not want schemers getting away with their crimes. Afterward, you want to make sure that you do not face similar scams in the future. You can achieve that by setting up strong passwords and changing them if they are leaked during a data breach. You have to be most cautious about phishing scams that could be used to extract email addresses, usernames, passwords, and other sensitive information from you because you do not want it leaked and used against you in other scams in the future.
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