Scam porn extortion email: 'I won't beat around the bush. I know your password. Moreover, I know your secret and I have evidence of it. It is just your hard luck that I discovered your blunder. In fact, I actually placed a malware on the adult vids (pornographic material)

 

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Scam porn extortion email: 'I won't beat around the bush. I know your password. Moreover, I know your secret and I have evidence of it. It is just your hard luck that I discovered your blunder. In fact, I actually placed a malware on the adult vids (pornographic material)

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.

The email

A victim receives an email similar to the one below. In this email, the scammer claims:

1. You visited a porn website.
2. He installed software on porn to allow him to hack your device (computer, tablet, phone). He says that allowed  "your browser initiated working as a RDP that has a key logger which gave me access to your screen and also web camera"
3. His software "collected your complete contacts from your Messenger, Facebook, as well as emailaccount"
4. He activated the camera on your device and recorded you watching porn and created a split screen video of you and the porn.
5. He can tell that you read the email
6. He can't be traced.

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.

 

Example scam email:

 

I won't beat around the bush. I know slings01 is your password. Moreover, I know your secret and I have evidence of it. You don't know me and no one employed me to look into you.

 

It is just your hard luck that I discovered your blunder. In fact, I actually placed a malware on the adult vids (pornographic material) and you visited this site to experience fun (you know what I mean). When you were busy watching video clips, your browser initiated functioning as a Rdp (Remote control desktop) having a keylogger which provided me with accessibility to your display and also webcam. Immediately after that, my software obtained all of your contacts from your messenger, social networks, and email.

 

Next, I put in more time than I should've investigating into your life and created a two view video. First part shows the recording you had been viewing and 2nd part displays the view from your web cam (its you doing inappropriate things).

 

Honestly, I am ready to forget details about you and allow you to move on with your regular life. And I will offer you two options that will accomplish this. These two options are either to ignore this letter, or perhaps pay me $ 1900. Let us explore above two options in more detail.

 

Option One is to ignore this e mail. You should know what is going to happen if you select this path. I will definately send out your video recording to all your contacts including relatives, co-workers, and so forth. It doesn't protect you from the humiliation your family will feel when friends and family find out your sordid videos from me.

 

Option 2 is to pay me $ 1900. We’ll name this my “confidentiality fee��. I will explain what will happen if you pick this path. Your secret remains your secret. I'll delete the recording immediately. You move on with your daily life like none of this ever happened.

 

Now you must be thinking, “I should go to the cops��. Let me tell you, I have taken steps to make sure that this e mail cannot be traced returning to me and yes it won't stop the evidence from destroying your life. I am not looking to steal all your savings. I just want to be paid for the time I placed into investigating you. Let's hope you have chosen to produce all of this vanish entirely and pay me the confidentiality fee. You'll make the payment via Bitcoins (if you do not know this, search "how to buy bitcoins" on search engine)

 

Transfer Amount: $ 1900

Send To This Bitcoin Address: (You must Edit * from this address and note it)

 

Expalin nobody what you will be sending the bitcoin for or they may not provide it to you. The method to have bitcoins can take a couple of days so do not delay.

I've a specific pixel within this mail, and right now I know that you've read through this email. You now have 2 days in order to make the payment. If I don't receive the BitCoins, I will send out your video to all your contacts including relatives, co-workers, and many others. You better come up with an excuse for friends and family before they find out. Nevertheless, if I do get paid, I'll destroy the proof immediately. It's a non negotiable offer, so do not waste my personal time & yours. Your time is running out. Let me tell you, my tracker will definitely be sharing the actions you adopt after you're done reading this letter. Let me tell you Should you anything that you should not I'll send out your video to your close relatives, coworkers even before time ends.

 

The truth

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.

Variations

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.

What to do

• 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.

• Report the scammer to Bitcoin (see below)

Report the scammer to Bitcoin

How To Report a Bitcoin Scam, Blackmail, Extortion or Theft:

1. Create a free account on Bitcoin (you need this to report a scam to them; it costs nothing and you don't need to give them any sensitive information; just an email address so they can get back to you)

2. Thenlogin on Bitcoin

3. Enter the bitcoin address in the box on this page

4. Then click the "Report Scam" button on the page that comes up in step 3 (not here) (it looks like this: )

 

If you are receiving sextortion threats, you are not alone. The FBI says in many sextortion cases, the perpetrator is an adult pretending to be a teenager, and you are just one of the many victims being targeted by the same person. If you believe you're a victim of sextortion, or know someone else who is, the FBI wants to hear from you:

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.

 

To see many other versions of the porn extortion scam, click here.

 

 

For a comprehensive list of national and international agencies to report scams, see this page.