New Blackmail Threat – Be Warned

I was perusing my spam filter, as I do occasionally since sometimes genuine email winds up being shunted over there, and I found something shocking.

It was addressed to me and featured one of my older passwords as “proof” that it was legitimate. It claimed to have video of me pursuing pørņ sites, that the writer had hacked into my computer camera to observe me doing fun things in front of one, and that if I did not give the writer $3200 in bitcoins that he was going to email it to all my friends and family.

I was stunned by this, especially because I don’t go on pørņ sites. Have I stumbled onto them while perusing the internet. Yes, and I immediately go “Yecchhh” and turn away from it.

As any man who has something to hide does, I immediately went to my wife and showed her the letter. Since Kathleen is far smarter than me, she entered “Pørņ bitcoin threat” into google and immediately discovered reports on sources ranging from Gizmodo to CNN that quoted the exact letter sent to me.

Is it possible it will hit some genuine users of pørņ? Yes. But you shouldn’t be blackmailed for that.

So beware if you get this thing. It’s a scam.

PAD

10 comments on “New Blackmail Threat – Be Warned

  1. Same happened to me last week. I did the same Google search. The old password is unsettling.

    1. Apparently it very well might have been bought after one of the many hacks of various sites. It was a very old (and no longer used) password

  2. Seems these hackers recently watched last season’s episode of Black Mirror called “Shut up and Dance”.

    Though, like most episodes of the series, things go darker than simply wanting bit coins.

  3. A site I used to frequent, tvshowsondvd.com went down permanently with an email telling people with accounts the site was hacked and to change their passwords. So any “innocent” website use can be used to threaten account holders with accusations of petty pørņ use or other embarrassing activity. I assume the premise is that enough people will be sensitive to false accusations of scandal to comply. I hope these true criminals are proven wrong.

    1. Same. I’ve got one on my laptop, but I only ever use it for Skyping with my family.

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