Blackmail spam

[Stephen Coates]

Has anyone received any spam attempting to blackmail you into paying?

I got one yesterday. Here it is:

spam_blackmail.png

Apparently they have webcam footage of me playing with myself. Well, the big flaw in this case is that I don't own a webcam!

The password they are claiming is indeed one that I use, although I don't use it for anything of much importance any more. Makes me wonder where they got it from. I wouldn't be surprised if a lot of people give in to this.

[Demon Cleaner]

Apparently they have webcam footage of me playing with myself. Well, the big flaw in this case is that I don't own a webcam!

So but the second accusation is true?

[Teho]

Your e-mail and password was probably in one of the many security leaks that have occured with many major companies in recent years. Lists of these are sold and circulated among scammers such as this one.

He's actually doing you a favour. He's confirming to you that your e-mail and password combination isn't secure anymore.

[Stephen Coates]

That is a good point actually.

I doubt I'll figure out exactly where it has come from. I've been using that particular password for nearly 16 years now so it could have come from anywhere. Whilst I do still use it, I don't use it for anything of much importance. The email address has been used for about 10 years, so, again, could have been leaked from just about anywhere.

[Kin Hell]

Apparently they have webcam footage of me playing with myself. Well, the big flaw in this case is that I don't own a webcam!

So but the second accusation is true?

biggrin.gif biggrin.gif

[Harrison]

My wife and I have both received these ransonware spam emails in the past. Mine had a password from a very old now redundant account from about 10 years ago. My wives was from a very old email address.

They are just spam using a password connected to the email account they are spamming obtained from old data breaches.

The most you need to do is update any accounts you have that still use the password.

[Stephen Coates]

When I posted that screenshot a few months ago, it was the first time I had got one of those blackmail spams. Now, several months later, I've had so many of them that they are starting to get boring.

[Harrison]

That's where their technique falls down. When receiving the very first of these it can be worrying if you don't know about them, but after a few or just becomes silly.