Recently a new scam email campaign whose objective is to extort money from victims to pay a certain amount in bitcoins in exchange for not publishing alleged intimate recordings.
This deception is known as sextortion and it is a fraud. Any user who has paid for fear that their photos or intimate content has been revealed has been a victim of it, because in reality they did not have access to your data at any time.
A few days ago, the Internet User Security Office (OSI) has alerted users to fraudulent emails that are sent randomly from a generated email account. The subject with which this email is identified is the following: ‘Money transfer confirmation’, although it is not ruled out that there are other emails with similar subjects.
The body of the message is written in Spanish and although there are no spelling mistakes, the grammar and vocabulary are not those used by a native person and possibly derived from a translation from another language. Likewise, it is not ruled out that other messages other than those of the example may appear, but for the same purpose.
Some parts of the emails said the following:
Greetings!
This email does not have good news for you. It is a reminder of your dirty deeds! The device you use to access the Internet has been infected with spyware for about 4 months. I have been monitoring your activities on the Internet for a long time.
Another more threatening snippet:
What do you think would happen if you shared those videos with your colleagues, family and friends? Considering the “quirkiness” of the videos you often watch, their opinion of you would change forever. I guess I might even get in trouble with the law because of certain videos in that collection …
You can access the full email here And you will see that it is very unrealistic, but there have been people who, faced with the pressure and shame of having their privacy published and shared online, have fallen into the trap.
What do I do if it happened to me?
Do not pay any amount to the extortionists, do not reply to the email they have sent you. The latter helps cybercriminals to know if the account is active and to send new scams in the future.
In the event that you have accessed the blackmail and made the payment of bitcoins, collect all the evidence you have (screenshots, e-mails, messages, etc.) and contact the State Security Forces and Bodies (FCSE) to file a complaint. For this, you can make use of an online witness.
What to do with received emails
If you have received an email of this style, do not answer and delete it. Nobody has had access to your devices, nor has they recorded an intimate video, it is a hoax that uses social engineering strategies. The best thing you can do is ignore these types of emails, do not send personal information.
In any case, always keep your devices and antivirus updated to reduce the risk of fraud.
Join our newsletter and receive the latest technology news in your email.
– .
