Protect Yourself and Report the Latest Frauds, Scams, Spams, Fakes, Identify Theft Hacks and Hoaxes
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With news stories of hacking into credit card companies, Facebook accounts, email accounts, cell phones being hacked and more, scammers are busy trying to take advantage of fears of being hacked. While it certainly is possible to have all of these hacked, many scammers simply prey upon consumers' fear of being hacked to extort their victims into surrendering money. The FBI is seeing an increase in the number of reported extortion attempts of a sexual nature; what's known as sextortion. In one recent month, the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center, or IC3, received an additional 13,000 complaints about the sextortion scam over the previous months. Sextortion occurs when someone threatens to distribute your private and sensitive material if you don't provide them with images of a sexual nature, sexual favors, or money.
Here is a common, and unfortunately, popular example of this.
A victim receives an email similar to the one below. In this email, the scammer claims:
After making these claims, he then issues his threats: you pay him by bitcoin or he will send the video to everyone in your contact list.
I do know pascha13 is your password. Lets get directly to the purpose. You may not know me and you're most likely thinking why you are getting this e-mail? Absolutely no one has paid me to check about you.
Let me tell you, I installed a software on the X video clips (sex sites) website and there's more, you visited this web site to experience fun (you know what I mean). While you were watching videos, your browser initiated working as a RDP that has a key logger which gave me access to your screen and also web camera. Immediately after that, my software program collected your complete contacts from your Messenger, Facebook, as well as emailaccount. Next I created a video. 1st part displays the video you were viewing (you've got a fine taste haha . . .), and next part displays the view of your cam, yea its u.
You have got just two solutions. We will study each one of these options in particulars:
1st solution is to dismiss this e-mail. As a result, I am going to send your actual tape to just about all of your contacts and thus you can easily imagine concerning the awkwardness yo u will see. Not to forget if you are in an intimate relationship, exactly how it will affect?
Next solution should be to give me $3000. I will call it a donation. Then, I will without delay delete your videotape. You will keep on daily life like this never took place and you never will hear back again from me.
You'll make the payment by Bitcoin (if you do not know this, search "how to buy bitcoin" in Google).
BTC Address to send to:
[CASE SENSITIVE so copy and paste it]
If you are making plans for going to the cops, anyway, this email cannot be traced back to me. I have dealt with my moves. I am just not attempting to ask you for a huge amount, I simply prefer to be compensated.
You have one day in order to pay. I've a unique pixel in this e mail, and at this moment I know that you have read through this email. If I do not get the BitCoins, I will certainly send your video recording to all of your contacts including relatives, co-workers, and many others. Nevertheless, if I do get paid, I'll erase the recording immediately. If you really want proof, reply with Yeah! then I will send your video recording to your 8 contacts. This is a nonnegotiable offer that being said please do not waste my personal time & yours by replying to this message.
Notice that except for your email address, all of the information
is vague, general and definitely not specific to you. Notice also
that he provides no proof or evidence of his claims. It's pretty
obvious that if you were to attempt to extort someone like this, you
would provide at least a brief clip of the video you claimed to have
to prove that you could follow through. This is an obvious sign of
the scam nature. Of course, if you don't visit porn websites,
then you would also obviously know immediately this is a scam.
Unless of course, you believe you watch porn in your sleep ("somnapornography"
While all of the claims are theoretically possible, it would take a pretty sophisticated scammer to achieve this. And a scammer like that is not going to target individuals; they'll go after corporations and bigger targets.
Some versions of the scam, like the one above, include one of the recipient's real passwords as "proof" that their claims are true. Criminals are sending emails and letters using their victims' authentic personally identifiable information to make their claims appear legitimate. How did they get your password? Most like they bought a list of usernames and passwords on the "dark web" from other hackers from a data breach like the ones you've heard about in the news: Experian, Yahoo, Wells Fargo, etc. Which means they are using a cut and paste program to send out thousands, or even millions of the scams.
First, do NOT reply to the scammer.
Do NOT pay the scammer.
Never send compromising images of yourself to anyone, no matter who they are or who they say they are.
Do not open attachments from people you do not know.
Turn off your electronic devices and web cameras - and cover or physically disconnect web cameras when you are not using them.
Contact your local FBI office (or toll-free at 1-800-CALL-FBI).
Next, the FBI recommends that if you have experienced this situation please notify the IC3 by filing a complaint.
If the email contains information that identifies you personally
(other than your email address alone; for example, address, complete name, etc.)
you should contact your local or state police and
local FBI office.
If you also forward a copy of the emails you receive here, we will examine them as well.
And another version: Porn watching extortion scam, version 3
The latest version (CIA is investigating you for child porn) is here.
For a comprehensive list of national and international agencies to report scams, see this page.