Spam Email Alert: Stolen Password / Bitcoin Ransomware Email

I’ve gotten a ton of emails like this recently.

From: Timothy Jenkins<Clarkson@minfigur.com>

On: Thu, Apr 29, 9:55 AM (2 days ago)

I am aware XXXXXXXX is one of your pass. Lets get directly to the point. Not a single person has compensated me to check about you. You may not know me and you are most likely thinking why you are getting this email?

Well, i actually placed a malware on the adult videos (pornography) web-site and there’s more, you visited this web site to have fun (you know what i mean). When you were watching video clips, your web browser started out working as a Remote control Desktop with a key logger which provided me accessibility to your screen and also webcam. after that, my software collected every one of your contacts from your Messenger, Facebook, as well as e-mail. after that i created a video. 1st part displays the video you were viewing (you have a fine taste rofl), and second part shows the recording of your web cam, and it is u.

You get two different options. Why dont we take a look at the options in details:

1st alternative is to ignore this e-mail. in such a case, i will send out your very own video clip to all your contacts and then consider concerning the humiliation you will see. and definitely if you are in a romantic relationship, just how it will certainly affect?

Second option would be to compensate me $2702. Lets refer to it as a donation. Then, i most certainly will straightaway erase your video. You could keep daily life like this never happened and you would never hear back again from me.

You will make the payment through Bitcoin (if you don’t know this, search ‘how to buy bitcoin’ in Google search engine).

Bitcoin address to send to: 1GAZn79cCD5Xnym8YiyCpFgtJG9J9Yfjw4

[case sensitive copy and paste it]

in case you are curious about going to the authorities, well, this email cannot be traced back to me. I have taken care of my actions. i am not trying to charge a fee very much, i would like to be compensated. in order to make the payment if i do not get the bitcoin, i will definately send your video to all of your contacts including relatives, coworkers, and so forth. Having said that, if i receive the payment, i will destroy the video immediately. If you want evidence, reply Yup! & i will send out your video recording to your 17 friends. it is a nonnegotiable offer, therefore don’t waste my personal time & yours by responding to this email message.

This bizarre spam email plays upon fears of people who think they were hacked, and it specifically preys on their insecurity of their internet browsing habits. Specifically, this email is claiming the following:

1. The sender has installed malware on your computer.
2. The malware has somehow activated the webcam on your computer AND has recorded your screen.
3. You have been caught looking at inappropriate and embarassing web pages.
4. The sender has a video of you that he/she will send to your friends unless you give him/her several thousand dollars by sending a payment via an untraceable bitcoin address.

I could spend a long time debunking each point above, but it really isn’t worth it. The end result? This email is a total hoax, and you can safely delete it. Do NOT click any links in an email like this, and do NOT make payments of any kind.

If you see that the sender has in fact figured out your password (which isn’t hard to do: all it means is that you had an online account with your current email address as the username and the password in question in a database somewhere on a website that was exploited), just start changing your passwords. Especially start focusing on the websites you have logins for that have the password used in the email.

Final tip: check out the website https://haveibeenpwned.com/ to see how many of your online logins using your email address have been compromised in the past.

That’s it! Just delete the email, take a deep sigh of relief, change your password whenever you can, and go about your day.