You may have already realized this but the typical Internet scammer isn’t above using dirty tricks to get victims to give them what they want. A recent adult content scam shows just how bad they can be and unfortunately demonstrates how ill-prepared many people are when it comes to handling them.
Before we get into the details of this scam, we first need to acknowledge the scope of another Internet vice: pornography. Explicit adult material makes up 30 percent of the content living on the internet and pornographic websites get more traffic than the combined traffic totals of Netflix, Twitter, and Amazon. There is a lot of pornography out there, which is why the scam became somewhat successful.
How This Adult Scam Plays Out
A lot of scams are run in order to take money from victims and this was no different. Like many other scams, this one features a version of the “give us what we want or we’ll share your secrets” strategy. But this time, the secret is pretty dirty.
This is the email that will kick off the scam:
“You don’t know me and you’re thinking why you received this email, right?
Well, I actually placed a malware on the porn website and guess what, you visited this web site to have fun (you know what I mean). While you were watching the video, your web browser acted as a RDP (Remote Desktop) and a keylogger which provided me access to your display screen and webcam. Right after that, my software gathered all your contacts from your Messenger, Facebook account, and email account.
What exactly did I do?
I made a split-screen video. First part recorded the video you were viewing (you’ve got a fine taste haha), and next part recorded your webcam (Yep! It’s you doing nasty things!).
What should you do?
Well, I believe, $1400 is a fair price for our little secret. You’ll make the payment via Bitcoin to the below address (if you don’t know this, search “how to buy bitcoin” in Google).”
Then, the email provides the user with a way to send over the $1400 worth of Bitcoin and even prompts them to copy and paste the alphanumeric code so no mistakes can be made. Then, the email ends with this ultimatum:
“Important: You have 24 hours in order to make the payment. (I have a unique pixel within this email message, and right now I know that you have read this email). If I don’t get the payment, I will send your video to all of your contacts including relatives, coworkers, and so forth. Nonetheless, if I do get paid, I will erase the video immediately [sic]. If you want evidence, reply with “Yes!” and I will send your video recording to your 5 friends. This is a non-negotiable offer, so don’t waste my time and yours by replying to this email.”
Obviously, this is not an email that would be fun to get. There are a few different versions of this threat that has been circulating but they all have the same message: pay up or your private activities will be made public.
No Need to Panic… Yet
In just over a month, this scam racked up well over a quarter of a million dollars, by collecting the ransoms of $1400. This means that scams like these will continue to grow.
Protecting Yourself from these Attacks
When avoiding similar attacks like this adult scam, proactivity is insanely important. You’ll want to make sure you aren’t heading to sketchy websites that are not secure and you may even want to cover your webcam when you aren’t using it.
For more help with protecting yourself, call MyTek today at 623-312-2440.