RvW 6 Posted October 26, 2018 Share Posted October 26, 2018 (edited) If you have received an email with subject "I'm a member of an international hacker group", it's a scam. Hi, Has anyone received an email saying: your email account was hacked? someone has sent an email you from your email account? they have your password? you were infected by a virus? the hacker has access to your messages, social media accounts, and messengers? the hacker has full dumps (backups) of you data? the hacker has recorded you? Well, this is not true. It's a scam. See below. But first, here's a sample of such an email: Quote Hello! I'm a member of an international hacker group. As you could probably have guessed, your account ****@*******.com was hacked, because I sent message you from it. Now I have access to you accounts! For example, your password for ****@*******.com is ********** Within a period from July 7, 2018 to September 23, 2018, you were infected by the virus we've created, through an adult website you've visited. So far, we have access to your messages, social media accounts, and messengers. Moreover, we've gotten full damps of these data. We are aware of your little and big secrets...yeah, you do have them. We saw and recorded your doings on porn websites. Your tastes are so weird, you know.. But the key thing is that sometimes we recorded you with your webcam, syncing the recordings with what you watched! I think you are not interested show this video to your friends, relatives, and your intimate one... Transfer $700 to our Bitcoin wallet: 13DAd45ARMJW6th1cBuY1FwB9beVSzW77R If you don't know about Bitcoin please input in Google "buy BTC". It's really easy. I guarantee that after that, we'll erase all your "data" A timer will start once you read this message. You have 48 hours to pay the above-mentioned amount. Your data will be erased once the money are transferred. If they are not, all your messages and videos recorded will be automatically sent to all your contacts found on your devices at the moment of infection. You should always think about your security. We hope this case will teach you to keep secrets. Take care of yourself. Now let's analyze this for a moment: your email account was not hacked; the hacker is just trying to use fear, obligation, and guilt to blackmail you. It's emotional blackmail. Don't let them fool you. the hacker has not sent an email from your email account. The only thing he did was change the "from address". Anyone can do that. More info here. they may have an old password. If you're still using that password just change it and use a strong password or a password manager. Passwords are available online. It's not that hard. See here or here or just Google it. When large websites get hacked hackers usually put the data online to show off. You can check if your password has been stolen. you were not infected by a virus?, the hacker is simply spreading FUD (an acronym for fear, uncertainty and doubt). You can scan your computer if you wish. the hacker has no access to your messages, social media accounts, etc. Again FUD. the hacker has full dumps (backups) of you data? More FUD. the hacker has recorded you? The FUD is getting boring. Some people work on desktops without webcams. So how can you record then? Once again: if you receive a similar email, it's a scam. It's safe to ignore it. Edited October 29, 2018 by Marcos Title redacted Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TomFace 539 Posted October 26, 2018 Share Posted October 26, 2018 (edited) Yeah it's about as scummy scammy as the scam Phone calls that most of us get. Fake IRS, insurance, loan collections, extended car warranties, medical equipment, fake Microsoft support, Medicare, lottery/sweepstakes winnings and the list goes on and on. When there is any doubt about an e-mail, don't even open it, just mark it as spam and/or delete it. While nosing around HTG (How-To Geek) this morning, I ran across this article which has some good tips. https://www.howtogeek.com/359129/don’t-fall-for-the-new-cryptoblackmail-scam-here’s-how-to-protect-yourself/ Be safe. Regards, Tom Edited October 26, 2018 by TomFace Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RvW 6 Posted October 29, 2018 Author Share Posted October 29, 2018 Thanks for sharing that, @TomFace! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TomFace 539 Posted October 29, 2018 Share Posted October 29, 2018 No sweat...thanks for the OP. Regards, Tom Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts