These scammers are tricking people by threatening to expose their porn habits
The West Vancouver Police are warning the public of a new form of online extortion scam that involve a person’s personal email accounts.
In the scam, an email is received that includes the recipients current or past email password.
The scammer explains that they’ve used the password to install malware on the person’s computer which has captured a video of them watching pornography through the computer’s webcam.
The scammer then explains that unless the person pays a large amount of money, they will send the video to their family and friends.
The payment of over $2000 via Bitcoin is then demanded of the recipient. Should they not pay within 24-hours, the alleged video will be distributed.
Police explain that although the email passwords sent are usually real, they were most likely bought by the scammers when a database from a website was leaked.
The “video” that the scammers describe doesn’t exist.
Anyone who finds themselves targeted by the scam is advised to:
- Not send any money or bitcoin
- Delete the email
- Immediately change your email password
- Report the incident to the police or the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre
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