What’s the threat?
‘Final warning’ sextortion scams.
Scammers are sending new ‘sextortion’ emails claiming they recorded you visiting websites showing illegal sexual content. The subjectline(‘Thisis my final warning’, seescreenshot)is alarming enough to persuade many people to open the email, while disturbingly the message accuses you of visiting an “erotic website with young teens”.
It claims that when you visited this site,
you installed malware that allowed the scammer to record you through your webcam.It threatens to send this footage to all your email contacts and Facebook friends unless you cough up 2,000 of the cryptocurrency Bitcoin. The scammer, who signs offas ‘Lavern, Anonymous Hacker’,adds: “Donot try to cheat me! As soon as you open this Email Iwill know you open edit”.
How can you stay safe?
You don’t need to worry about the scammers knowing which websites you visit. They’ve sent this scam to millions of people, knowing they only need to tricka handful to make it worth their while.
They certainly didn’t handpick you because they know your browsing history. That’s not to say hackers can’t install
malware to spy on you. If they installa remote-access trojan (RAT)on your computer,they’ll be able to turn on your webcam without you knowing,as well as access files and run software. One of the most notorious RATs is
Blackshades,which infects computers through infected websites and USB sticks. In 2014,the FBI conducted a global operation to fight against Blackshades, arresting almost 100 peoplein19 countries.One of its creators,Swedishborn AlexYucel,was extra dited from Moldova to the USand sentenced to five years in prison.
Scammers are sending new ‘sextortion’ emails claiming they recorded you visiting websites showing illegal sexual content. The subjectline(‘Thisis my final warning’, seescreenshot)is alarming enough to persuade many people to open the email, while disturbingly the message accuses you of visiting an “erotic website with young teens”.
It claims that when you visited this site,
you installed malware that allowed the scammer to record you through your webcam.It threatens to send this footage to all your email contacts and Facebook friends unless you cough up 2,000 of the cryptocurrency Bitcoin. The scammer, who signs offas ‘Lavern, Anonymous Hacker’,adds: “Donot try to cheat me! As soon as you open this Email Iwill know you open edit”.
How can you stay safe?
You don’t need to worry about the scammers knowing which websites you visit. They’ve sent this scam to millions of people, knowing they only need to tricka handful to make it worth their while.
They certainly didn’t handpick you because they know your browsing history. That’s not to say hackers can’t install
malware to spy on you. If they installa remote-access trojan (RAT)on your computer,they’ll be able to turn on your webcam without you knowing,as well as access files and run software. One of the most notorious RATs is
Blackshades,which infects computers through infected websites and USB sticks. In 2014,the FBI conducted a global operation to fight against Blackshades, arresting almost 100 peoplein19 countries.One of its creators,Swedishborn AlexYucel,was extra dited from Moldova to the USand sentenced to five years in prison.