IF YOU RECEIVE A BLACKMAIL EMAIL, PLEASE REDACT THE PERSONAL INFORMATION AND POST IT AS A COMMENT ON THIS THREAD SO THAT OTHERS WHO RECEIVE THE SAME EMAIL CAN FIND IT THROUGH GOOGLE.
BLACKMAIL EMAIL SCAMS ARE ALSO SENT VIA SMS (TEXT) AND PHYSICAL MAIL. REGARDLESS OF THE METHOD, THEY ARE SPAM AND THE POST BELOW GIVES YOU INFORMATION AND ADVICE ABOUT WHAT TO DO.
Blackmail email scams have that name because they started out as emails, however they have also been sent out via SMS and physical mail. If you are reading this because you have received one of these emails and you're worried, you can stop worrying. The blackmail email scam is an email spam campaign that is sent out to thousands of email addresses at a time, the emails are completely false. In many cases, the emails will contain some sort of privileged information about you such as your name, part or all of your phone number, and your password. The data they use is collected from data breaches. Some emails may also include a screenshot of your desktop. The screenshots are acquired through malware often distributed through cracked software. If you received a screenshot of your desktop you should run a virus scan with something like Malwarebytes.The emails may also look like they were sent from your own email address due to email spoofing. You can use the service Have I Been Pwned? to see if you are in any publicly known data breaches. If you receive an email that contains a password that you currently use, you should immediately change that. Current recommended password guidelines say that you should use a different, complex password for every account. You can generate and save passwords using a password manager for convenience. You should also be using two factor authentication using an app like Google Authenticator instead of receiving codes through SMS.
Here are some news articles about this scam. Here is a story from Brian Krebs, and here is a story from the New York Times.
Below in the comments section are a few examples, but if you receive an email that is similar but not the same as the examples you see, that does not matter and does not mean that the email is real. The spammers constantly change up their templates in order to bypass spam filters, so it's normal to receive an email that hasn't yet been posted online.
EXAMPLES
Lets get directly to the point.
Not one person has paid me to check about you. You do not know me and you're probably thinking why you are getting this email? in fact, i actually placed a malware on the adult vids (adult porn) website and you know what, you visited this site to experience fun (you know what i mean).
When you were viewing videos, your browser started out operating as a RDP having a key logger which provided me with accessibility to your display and web cam.
immediately after that, my malware obtained every one of your contacts from your Messenger, FB, as well as email account.
after that i created a double-screen video. 1st part shows the video you were viewing (you have a nice taste omg), and 2nd part displays the recording of your cam, and its you. Best solution would be to pay me $1002.
We are going to refer to it as a donation. in this situation, i most certainly will without delay remove your video.
My -BTC -address: 1JXvEapcRCvywymcrYZ1rcCfLfNZKri4LP [case SeNSiTiVe, copy & paste it]
You could go on your life like this never happened and you will not ever hear back again from me.
You'll make the payment via Bitcoin (if you do not know this, search 'how to buy bitcoin' in Google).
if you are planning on going to the law, surely, this e-mail can not be traced back to me, because it's hacked too. I have taken care of my actions. i am not looking to ask you for a lot, i simply want to be paid.
if i do not receive the bitcoin;, i definitely will send out your video recording to all of your contacts including friends and family, co-workers, and so on. Nevertheless, if i do get paid, i will destroy the recording immediately.
If you need proof, reply with Yeah then i will send out your video recording to your 8 friends.
it's a nonnegotiable offer and thus please don't waste mine time & yours by replying to this message.
I observe you via your camera and I wonder how much u enjoy jerking off. You’ve got a really bizarre passion for this kind of mania. I am going to send it compromising data to the contacts from ur electronic-mail, but it is possible to prevent this. I am not going to say that your entertainment is a really bad thing to do, another issue is when others may see the video u are in. To my knowledge, not a belief is in favor of this. Within twenty-four h from the moment of reading the notice you send to me reward for maintaining ur public image in the eyes of ur family. In satisfying my claim, your terrible compromising data is going to be swept off and nobody is going to see ur sexual stimulation. Conversely, within forty-eight h i’ll distribute the video tape among other men and upload it on the net. Appeal to the police will not help you, i’m an alien. After sending this message I’ll delete this electronic-mail in order to erase clues. Wanna know how this could have happened? U’d better not browse unverified websites, or ur device can be infected and somebody can gain total control over it.
Do not try to get ahold of law enforcement, they can do nothing in a given situation. I am a foreigner, on sending the msg I will delete the mail in order to destroy evidences. Ur onanism has been filmed using the camera of ur infected device. My malicious programme is brilliant! Besides having recorded a movie where u participate, using RDP protocol I downloaded all ur contacts from your electronic-mail. If you defy me, in 96 hours I’ll distribute your dirt among your relatives and upload it on the net. Now carefully read the msg, otherwise ur image in the eyes of others is never going to recover. In case within 48 h from the moment of reading this msg I do not gain my compensation, the clip with ur jerking off will become accessible for everybody. If you do what I ask, I am going to delete all ur private dirt and you will never hear of me again. I advise u to be more attentive when you visit unsavory sites, someone anytime can get complete access to your device. Even anti virus cannot always defend u. As soon as the wallet is generated, I’m gonna send u the instructions.
During masturbation in front of a web camera you have such a disgusting facial expression, did u ever wonder about that? I don't want to give moral lectures to an adult man, just so you know, you are nasty and mean. I suggest you to think about you life, cuz it is miserable. U would not be reading this text if you were on guard online. U got just one chance to fix everything, I've prepared everything necessary to ruin you reputation in one minute, and your entire contact list will see the video clip with ur dirt.