Once again, perpetrators are trying to get money in the form of Bitcoins through extortionate emails and are threatening to publish allegedly spicy video recordings.
Users are currently receiving extortionate emails in which a “secret observer” claims to have infected the user’s PC with spyware and is now in possession of spicy webcam video recordings:
Hello first name last name,
You don't know me and you're wondering why I'm writing to you? Then you should pay close attention now.
I managed to install spyware on your PC and was able to see which dirty sites you visit and at the same time see what you are doing in front of the webcam and capture the whole thing using a split-screen recording. From start to finish. You can be seen on the left and the screen content on the right.
I was also able to collect all of your contact details through malware.
So now I have the video footage and your contact list.
I think it would be in everyone's best interests if no one saw the recording.What you should do now:
To prevent me from sending this video material to all your contacts, you only have one option:You send me 350 euros in the form of Bitcoins as “hush money” to the following address:
1C1MwuS1PbC7UBXL5Y9kZ67Kvw3tbCHzeA
[Used copy and paste to avoid making mistakes]
I think that's a fair price for our "secret"You now have 72 hours to do this. If I am unable to receive payment during this time, I will send the video of you to all of your contacts. Without exception!
If you don't know how to buy Bitcoins, google “buy bitcoin bitpanda” or “buy bitcoin tutorial”.
I have integrated a tracking pixel into this email so I can see that you have read it.
So don't waste your time and try to negotiate because then I will send the video to three of your contacts!Kind regards,
your secret observer
Fact check
These blackmail attempts are not new. Similar emails appeared last year 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 virus protection protects users from this potential danger.
Should I pay the blackmailer?
It is not advisable to pay the blackmailer immediately. 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.
Result:
In most cases, such emails are pure attempts at fraud and the blackmailer does not have any juicy video footage of his victim.
Unfortunately, you can never completely rule out this possibility, so it makes sense to definitely report the blackmail to the police!
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