About This Email Scam
Is this threat real?
No, and
don’t panic. This email is a scam that tries to trick you into thinking
that your device or email has been hacked, then demands payment or else
they will send compromising information -such as images of you captured
through your web camera or your pornographic browsing history – to all
your friends and family. And in classic ransomware fashion, there’s
typically a ticking clock. Giving users a short time limit to deliver
the paymentis social engineering at its finest.
Threats, intimidation and high-pressure tactics are classic signs of a scam.
As you can imagine, this email and anything it states is just a scam to try and scare you into paying the ransom.
They have my password! How did they get my password?
To make the threats more credible, these scammers may include one of your passwords in this email. The scammers have your password from sites that were hacked, and in this case, likely matched up to a database of emails and stolen passwords and sent this scam out to potentially millions of people. You can check if your email or password was compromised in a data breach on Haveibeenpwned.
If the password emailed to you is one that you still use, in any context whatsoever, stop using it and change it NOW. It’s also recommended that you enable two-factor authentication for your email and online accounts whenever that is an option.
Should I pay the ransom?
You should not pay the ransom. If you pay the ransom, you’re not only losing money but you’re encouraging the scammers to continue phishing other people.
Delete this email, and under no circumstances pay these cybercriminals a penny/dime/bitcoin.
The below email is a scam.
This is the text of this mail, including the grammatical and spelling errors.
Hello!
I am a representative of the ChaosCC hacker group.
In the period from [edited] to [edited] we got access to your account [edited] by hacking one of the domain.com mail servers.
Your pass for above account on moment of hack was: [edited]
You already changed the password?
Sumptuously! But my program fixes this every time. And every time I know your new password!
Using access to your account, it turned out to be easy to infect the OS of your device.
At the moment, all your contacts are known to us. We also have access to your messengers and to your correspondence.
All this information is already stored with us.
We are also aware of your intimate adventures on the Internet.
We know that you adore adult sites and we know about your sexual addictions.
You have a very interesting and special taste (you understand what I mean).
While browsing these sites, your device’s camera automatically turns on.
Video-record you and what you watch is being save.
After that, the video clip is automatically saved on our server.
At the moment, several analogy video records have been collected.
From the moment you read this letter, after 60 hours, all your contacts on this email box and in your instant messengers will receive these clips and files with your correspondence.
If you do not want this, transfer 550$ to our Bitcoin cryptocurrency wallet: 12iPSuHtkZ9ap9Yh8pidCsDRWtkt7sAg1u
I guarantee that we will then destroy all your secrets!
As soon as the money is in our account – your data will be immediately destroyed!
If no money arrives, files with video and correspondence will be sent to all your contacts.
You decide… Pay or live in hell out of shame…
We believe that this whole story will teach you how to use gadgets properly!
Everyone loves adult sites, you’re just out of luck.
For the future – just cover a sticker your device’s camera when you visit adult sites!
Take care of yourself!
Recommended Actions
Ignore the content of this email and delete it from your Inbox.