Hi Guys,
We have had some reports from our users about a new Sextortion scam currently making its way worldwide. Here is what you need to watch out for:
What is Sextortion:
Sextortion scams are emails claiming that a hacker has hacked your computer and installed malware that can record you on your webcam while you surf the Internet. The hacker also claims to have created a video of you watching adult websites, and they threaten to send the video to all of your contacts unless you pay an extortion demand. The hacker will often include your name and maybe a password from another account they purchased off the dark web. The scam can look very convincing, and it fools many thousands of people every day.
How does this particular scam work:
- You receive an email from your own email address. This will instantly scare a lot of people. You will be much more likely to engage with the extortion demand if you think the hacker has hacked into your email to send the email to you. The email, in reality, is not from you. The hackers can spoof your email address to look like the email is sent from you. It is pretty easy to do.
- The email says your webcam has been hacked, and they have a recording of you looking at adult websites on your computer.
- They say that if you do not pay a ransom of €1,450, they will send this recording to everyone in your contacts.
- They demand that the ransom is sent to this bitcoin address: 1MnmdCjZLyQgYs1PHbv2r1BKLBmh6ohFgE
How to stay safe:
- The good news is that 99.999% of sextortion scams are not authentic. If they had pictures of you, they would have shown you at least one of them to pressure you to pay.
- Hackers send these emails to millions of people everything in the hopes of just hooking a small percentage of victims. Do not be fooled.
- Also, another telltale sign in this particular scam is the bitcoin address. The hacker wants to get paid to this bitcoin address – 1MnmdCjZLyQgYs1PHbv2r1BKLBmh6ohFgE. If you see this Address, you can safely delete the email.
- Never, ever, ever, ever pay the ransom. They will keep coming back for more and will never leave you alone.
- If you are worried, please forward the email to our support team, and we can triple confirm that you are safe.
Have a great weekend ahead, and please let us know if you need anything.
All the best,
Max Roberts,
Incognito Privacy Care Team.