Being blackmailed with scam email

Brid Hegarty

I found an email in my junk box this morning (first image). It appears to be blackmailing me. It says I have 48 hours from the moment I opened the email.

I am wondering though; if this person knew specifics about me, or what I viewed, wouldn't they reveal them!

It mentioned that I was following links from emails. I don't ever recall clicking on a link from a funny email.

Wouldn't any email this person sends to my friends just go into their spam folder?

I was asked to change the password on my hotmail account a few months ago, and choose one the I frequently use on other accounts.

Thank you

Ash.J.Williams

why are you worried?

it's junk ignore

Stark

It's a generic scam email. You can ignore but be aware they probably found your email from a password leak so make sure you're not re-using passwords across sites and you've changed your password on any sites that have leaked your password. https://haveibeenpwned.com/ is quite good for seeing what passwords of yours have been leaked.

Brid Hegarty

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118530188#Comment_118530188

I hope u don't mind me PMing you, but I don't get the impression u read that email. Isn't it possible that someone could hack into your PC as like happened with the HSE? I wouldn't be worried if I had not opened it. But it says I've 48 hours. Now I know it would be a good guess with blackmailing someone to start with porn assumption, but the thing is I do happen to have a collection of links to porn vids in a word doc.

TheReverend

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118530224#Comment_118530224

Its completely generic, ignore and move on

Stark

I have loads of copies of the same email you posted in my spam folder. Ignore, do not give them money.

L1011

They have nothing on you, delete the email.

seamus

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118530224#Comment_118530224

Think about how much effort it would require to monitor someone's activity 24/7 for several months over cameras on multiple devices, waiting for salacious moments to record and share. It would be worth a lot more than $1,200.

It's a scam.

Brid Hegarty

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118530216#Comment_118530216

This is what I got from pasting my email address into that website

Oh no — pwned! - Pwned in 2 data breaches and found no pastes (subscribe to search sensitive breaches)

I'm not entirely sure what that means or how it can tell it so fast?

Brid Hegarty

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118530266#Comment_118530266

Well once someone has hacked into your PC, can't they then access your files? Or do they have to wait until you open the file and then record it?

Ash.J.Williams

ignore

Brid Hegarty

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118530236#Comment_118530236

You mean it's the exact same? I'd be more reassured if I saw something about this exact scam elsewhere on the internet.

MIRMIR82

Brid, don't worry about this. Most people get these emails. They are just looking for someone gullible enough to pay the money. They don't have any of your information, they don't have access to your PC. All they do have is your e-mail address which they could buy online or just make up and hope for the best. Delete it from your spam and move on.

cruizer101

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118530268#Comment_118530268

If you scroll down the page it will give further details on the breaches.

So for example it might say email, first name, last name is which case some website was hacked and had their list of users along with the names taken and then published onto the internet in a file. Something like that isn't ideal but its not the end of the world.

In some case it will say the passwords were also retrieved by the hackers which is far worse.

Sometimes it will have details of the website breached sometimes not as there are some case where it is multiple websites details and there is just a large file with the details from all released.

ohnonotgmail

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118530305#Comment_118530305

exact same email. i found the link by googling one of the sentences in the email.

https://malwaretips.com/blogs/remove-i-have-to-share-bad-news-with-you/

Glaceon

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118530305#Comment_118530305

From the FTC in the US: https://www.consumer.ftc.gov/blog/2020/04/scam-emails-demand-bitcoin-threaten-blackmail

Brid Hegarty

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118530312#Comment_118530312

So if worst came to the worst they'd only have the password for my email address?

Donald Trump

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118530224#Comment_118530224

You will need to tell us more about this word doc

Dohnjoe

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118530268#Comment_118530268

1. Relax. It's a generic scam email. Ignore it completely.
2. Every once in awhile a forum or site you have been signed up to is hacked or loses data. Haveibeenpwned.com keeps a track of all these in databases. What it means is that some personal information may (or may not) have been leaked. All you do is change the password on your email, just in case.
3. NEVER EVER send anything to these scammers, as soon as you do, they will immediately continue to harass you. They will never stop.

As an example, I signed up for a fitness forum, some of my details were lost in a hack, just generic details including my email. Scammers buy info containing millions of these email addresses and mass mail them with the generic scam you listed. Some people will panic and pay them, they will then milk those people to death.

yurtyaherne

I've got multiple versions of this email over the years.

Just make sure you change your email password regularly. Turn on two-factor authentication also.

If you need help with this drop me a DM with your email provider name and I'll show you how to turn on two-factor authentication

Brid Hegarty

Reading about the scam here:

https://www.consumer.ftc.gov/blog/2020/04/scam-emails-demand-bitcoin-threaten-blackmail?page=7

Donald Trump

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118530340#Comment_118530340

Serious answer this time:

Companies are sometimes hacked and consumer data stolen. That is why you should try not to reuse the same password in multiple places linked to your email account.

If the spammer sent you your actual current password to your actual email address, change it immediately. It is likely that it is from an old breach which means you don't change your password often - if at all.

Anywhere else you use the same password linked to that email address, change it immediately. It is not just because of that particular spammer but because of all other spammers or "hackers". They don't need to be a "hacker". They just need to download the files from wherever that contain your password beside that email address and then try to enter it (along with everyone else's in that file) to common websites.

MarkR

https://malwaretips.com/blogs/remove-i-have-to-share-bad-news-with-you/

It's a scam, delete.

FFS! LOL!

That is all.

Brid Hegarty

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118530358#Comment_118530358

I've the links of a few of my fav pornos saved in it. Nothing I'd be ashamed of. But I also have the links for profiles of escorts saved there too... which I wouldn't want anyone seeing.

Wheety

Delete the email and don't worry about it. Don't click on any links in it or send them money. I've received the same email a few times and 1 even had a password I've used before.

It was an old password. They just bought a list of emails and in some cases passwords, they run a script that sends out hundreds of thousands of emails and just hope some people will send them money.

Car99

Send me €50 and I'll get it all sorted for you

Ash.J.Williams

i recall a phonecall from a mate, all serious, and he asked me to explain to his wife that the contents of the spam folder have nothing to do with him or his internet habits , she was angry!

nosey f*cker

Dial Hard

Dude, seriously, enough with the dramatics, how many times do you need to be told that it's a well-known generic scam? Conor Pope even wrote about it a couple of years ago.

Change your passwords for the affected accounts, ignore and move on. And maybe get out a bit more.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118530445#Comment_118530445

Be more worried about the escort website being hacked...

Apiarist

Delete and ignore this email, start using a password manager (for example, Google) and change passwords on the sites that matter regularly.

Unless you are a high profile individual, nobody cares about your porn collection private data.