This morning I saw a topic saying that maybe as many as 200,000 Norwegians have been victims of sextortion. Wow, considering that Norway is a country with less than 5,000,000 citizens, that is a high number. Hopefully, not all of them have been actually fooled, but sextortion is a big thing online.
Exactly one week ago, I wrote about how I was alerted in an email that my address had been part of a databreach in which email addresses and passwords were disclosed. Do you know what? Such information is vital to those dealing with sextortion? Do you know why? Check the following example of a sextortion email I received personally a few years ago (also mentioned in this article).
An example of a sextortion email...
"“It appears that, (*******), is your password. May very well not know me and you are probably wondering why you’re getting this e mail, right?
in fact, I setup a spyware over the adult vids (porno) web site and guess what happens, you visited this web site to have fun (you know very well what What i’m saying is). During the time you were watching videos, your internet browser started off functioning like a RDP (Remote Desktop) which provided me accessibility to your screen and web camera. and then, my software program obtained all of your current contacts out of your Messenger, Microsoft outlook, Facebook, along with emails.
What did I actually do?
I made a double-screen video clip. Very first part shows the recording you are watching (you’ve got a good taste haha . . .), and Second part shows the recording of your webcam.
what exactly should you do?
Well, in my opinion, $1000 is a fair price for your little secret. You will make the payment by Bitcoin (if you don’t know this, search “how to purchase bitcoin” in Google).
Bitcoin Address: 1K2nT3YRTMtN25hBRzYrTjJTNXuNiQsiKn
(It is case sensitive, so copy and paste it)
Important:
You have one day to make the payment. (I’ve a unique pixel within 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, co-workers, and so forth. Having said that, if I get the payment, I’ll destroy the video immidiately. If you need evidence, reply with “Yes!” and I will certainly send 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.”
What is it all about?
The person sending the email has grabbed hole of my email address and password from some data breach. Now they use this knowledge to make me believe that they are actually accessing my email, reading it, and spying on me. And do you know what? It actually sounds quite convincing and scary as you discover that they actually have your email and password. And if you even watch porn, then you might get really scared!
And that is what has happened to millions of people worldwide, and that is what makes thousands of people pay as they receive such requests.
You have seen the example - what to do?
Maybe you haven't received any such email (yet)? Or maybe you have? No matter what, the best thing is to do nothing at all about it. If you haven't watched porn, then you know it is fake. If you have watched porn, don't worry - this is just junk no matter what. You have nothing to worry about, and the only thing you should make sure of is to change your password connected to your email address if you still use that password.
Stay safe everyone, be wise, and I hope this email will help and protect some of you out there from future attempts to fool you into paying for something that you shouldn't pay for!
This is an original article written by me for Project Hope!
