Ticketmaster hack fallout

Robert_McGeddon

I received an interesting e-mail this morning. Apparently someone had hacked my computer, found lots of !!!!!!, turned on my computer's camera to record me watching it and proposed to e-mail friends and relatives etc (from my e-mail address book) a combined video. What made it slightly compelling was that they e-mailed me from my own e-mail address and quoted a password I had used online. A sum of money deposited in bitcoin was demanded to stop the e-mail distribution.

Now, it's not too hard to spoof the sender’s e-mail address so I wasn't too worried about that. Also, my computer doesn't have a camera, so the threat was incapable of being carried out.

What was interesting was the valid password associated with the valid e-mail address. I use multiple e-mail addresses that redirect to my main account (to help me control spam) and multiple different passwords for the websites I access. Across all websites I have registered with in the last 10 years only one has the combination of e-mail address and password quoted in this morning's e-mail. Ticketmaster.

It was widely reported back in June that the Ticketmaster website had been hacked and customer details taken. Presumably, today's e-mail is fallout from that hack. I can't imagine I'll be the only one to receive such an e-mail.

Caz3121

Robert_McGeddon wrote: »

I can't imagine I'll be the only one to receive such an e-mail.

if you search "sextortion email" or similar on google you will find this has been around for some time.
https://www.actionfraud.police.uk/alert/alert-cyber-criminals-send-victims-their-own-passwords-in-new-sextortion-scam

Robert_McGeddon

Nice link to Actionfraud - thank you. Also, a link from there to haveibeenpwned.com was very informative.

It still appears likely to me that Ticketmaster was the source of the email. If anyone uses the same combination of email address and password that they used at Ticketmaster on other websites I'd seriously think about changing them.

pogofish

How many threads have we had about this one now...?

The amount of them threatening to use webcam pics taken from machines that don't actually have a webcam connected strongly suggests that this one is about as rubbish and ignorable as any other bit of scary spam/scam.

JJ_Egan

<It was widely reported back in June that the Ticketmaster website had been hacked and customer details taken. Presumably, today's e-mail is fallout from that hack. >


Does not have to be anything to do with Ticketmaster .
Millions who have that email or others dont even know what TM is and have never used it .

Rosemary7391

Apologies to the original poster.



If you use the same username and password across multiple websites you should change that.

tetley

Rosemary7391 wrote: »

Hope you don't mind my edits...

I mind the edits, there was no need for it, infact I had to read your edits more than once to make sense of it. The orginal one made more sense.

I do wish people would leave an orginal post alone and create a new one if it bothers them that much.

robatwork

It's nothing to do with ticketmaster.

My work domain gets hundreds a day, some to genuine email addresses and some to guesses. But some do have legitimate passwords, and I know they haven't been used on ticketmaster.

I strongly suspect a well-known remote control program's website had been hacked years ago.

Did anyone ever use a remote control program to access your PC, or did you use one? I won't name the one I have in mind at this time, but if you do I will confirm.

Rosemary7391

tetley wrote: »

I mind the edits, there was no need for it, infact I had to read your edits more than once to make sense of it. The orginal one made more sense.

I do wish people would leave an orginal post alone and create a new one if it bothers them that much.

Very well, have fixed it