Internet users are once again receiving massive amounts of emails. According to the email, you were secretly filmed using the webcam while consuming porn. The material will be sent to all contacts unless a certain sum of a few hundred euros is transferred via Bitcoin.
This is what the current version of the email that is currently being sent often says:

Hello!
I am a hacker who managed to gain full control of your device.
I must tell you that I have full control over all your personal information, contacts and correspondence.
Also, I have completed the recording of you pleasuring yourself on the left side of the screen and on the right you can see the video you watched.With a single click I can send this video to all your contacts in the mail and on social media.
I can ruin your reputation and your life.I can also publish access to all your emails and messengers that you use.
If you're wondering what bad things can be done, think about all your friends, family, and colleagues and how they'll react when they see you masturbating in the video I edited.
If you want to prevent this, transfer $1000 to your BTC wallet: 14F5H6zgQq39njYJWPLWznsEpJSTtUWAHk
(if you don't know how to do this, then write on Google: “buy Bitcoin”).The malware I used to log into your device is so powerful that your antivirus program was unable to stop it, and there is no sign that it is still present in your system.
Once I receive payment I will delete the video and you will never hear from me again.
I give you 50 hours (more than two days) to pay.
I have a notice to read this email and the timer will be triggered when you see this email.Don't try to answer me.
It doesn't make sense (the sender address is generated automatically). There is no point in filing a complaint anywhere because this email cannot be traced, nor can my Bitcoin address.
I do not make mistakes.Best regards!
“I got an email like that too! How do they know my email address?”
In recent years, databases from various companies have been hacked again and again, and the contents of the databases have been published on various relevant websites and on the darknet.
These databases often contained “only” the full name and email address, the passwords sometimes encrypted, but sometimes even unencrypted. Those blackmailers now make use of these databases: They write to a bunch of users who they can find in the databases and try to blackmail them “at random”.
What do all these emails have in common?
Although the text of the emails varies again and again, they all have certain things in common:
- Someone claims to have access to the computer
- The user allegedly accessed porn sites
- The blackmailer has webcam footage of it
- The user should pay a certain amount in Bitcoins
One of the best proofs that this is just a scam :
Many users told us that they don't have a webcam at all!
Fact check
These blackmail attempts are not new. Similar emails appeared in 2018 and the police also warned about this scam.
Bitcoins are still very popular – even among cybercriminals. Such emails are usually sent randomly to different people (with or without a personal salutation). No proof of the existence of the allegedly filmed material is provided. This means it cannot be clearly proven whether the blackmailers really have video material of the victims or not.
So far there has only been one similar case in which a user was actually blackmailed .
However, you can never rule out infection with malware. Because when you visit dubious sites, it can always happen that you get malware. Good antivirus protection protects users from this potential danger.
“Should I pay the blackmailer?”
It is not advisable to pay the blackmailer. In addition to not relying on a criminal's word, any user who gives in to such a demand qualifies as a potential “permanent victim.” to report such emails and other blackmail attempts immediately to the nearest police station .
The LKA Lower Saxony has also published some links where you can check for yourself whether your own email address appears in leaked databases:
But be careful: The pages do not claim to be complete, and leaked databases often only become known months or even years later, so unfortunately you cannot be completely safe if your own email address does not appear in the databases.
Conclusion
Such emails are pure attempts at fraud and the blackmailer does not have any juicy video footage of his victim.
However, you can never completely rule out this possibility, so it makes sense to definitely report the blackmail to the police !
Article Image: Shutterstock / By PR Image Factory
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