You might have been not so lucky to receive an email with the subject being one of your commonly used passwords and the content going something like this:
“I’m aware, ********** is your password. You don’t know me and you are probably thinking why you are getting this email, right? Well, I actually placed a malware on the adult video clips (porn) web site…”
Or like this:
“I hacked this mailbox and infected your operating system with a virus…”
Or even:
“I’m part of an international hacker group. As you can guess, your account was hacked…”
There are many variations of this, but the message boils down to a claim that the ‘hacker’ infected your computer by hacking your account or placing malware on a porn site you visited.
It would seem that your email was harvested from your e-mail contacts, social networks, instant messengers, and phone book. They appear to have total access to your device, and they’ve also, it appears, hijacked your webcam to make a video of you watching something.
The hacker threaten to send the video to all of your friends however, they make you an offer to transfer a specified sum of cryptocurrency to an anonymous wallet after which they will dump that tell-all video!
Many hackers pounce on your fear and doubts at that moment and give you only a few days to respond. And of course, they say if payment is made, they’ll immediately destroy the video and the database of your contacts.
Calm down, no one’s filmed you, but your password is compromised
In reality, there is no omnipotent “virus” or shameful video, however someone does know one of your passwords? Over the years, many major online systems have been compromised and if you had an account with them, then your username and password data have been copied and uploaded to various hacker websites all over the internet. You’d be surprised to see how easy that is to find.
What should I do?
To avoid falling victim to ransomware scammers, we advise being cautious and following a few simple steps. Here’s what you don’t want to do:
- Don’t panic.
- Don’t pay the ransom.
- Don’t respond to ransom e-mails — you will only validate your address and attract more.
- Don’t follow links in such messages. At best, you’ll get bombarded with shady ads, and you might even infect your machine with a virus, now for real.
What to do:
- Take note of the password sent in the ransom e-mail, and change it immediately on any websites where you use it. While you’re at it, choose a stronger password.
- Use a reliable password manager
- Install a good antivirus and anti malware software
Check where you have you been Pwned?
If you want to know which websites you need to update your password for visit the website Have I been Pwned and enter any email address that you may have used in the sign up process.
Before changing your password, run that antivirus scan and anti-malware scan and make sure to use a strong password!
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