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Blackmail email - how likely to be real?
Pennywise
Posts: 13,468 Forumite
in Techie Stuff
I've received an email from someone claiming to have infected my computer with a trojan horse virus and telling me to pay a sum of dollars in bitcoin to avoid them sending what they've found on my PC to all my email contacts/social media etc.
I've got Avast premium on all my PCs, and have done Avast scans, with nothing reported found. I've had it on my PCs for several years, so have always assumed I've been protected. I don't recall any flags recently to say attempts have been detected/blocked, nor do I recall clicking on anything dodgy on websites nor opening dodgy emails.
Just wondering how likely this is to be real or whether it's just a scam using scare techniques and just "assuming" I have things I'd prefer hidden on my PC. (There "may" be things on my PC but if there are they're protected by passwords and encrpyted but presumably if I opened them myself, and there was a trojan horse virus, they'd be visible for someone to copy?)
I've got Avast premium on all my PCs, and have done Avast scans, with nothing reported found. I've had it on my PCs for several years, so have always assumed I've been protected. I don't recall any flags recently to say attempts have been detected/blocked, nor do I recall clicking on anything dodgy on websites nor opening dodgy emails.
Just wondering how likely this is to be real or whether it's just a scam using scare techniques and just "assuming" I have things I'd prefer hidden on my PC. (There "may" be things on my PC but if there are they're protected by passwords and encrpyted but presumably if I opened them myself, and there was a trojan horse virus, they'd be visible for someone to copy?)
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Comments
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Have they given you your full name and address and contact details?Censorship Reigns Supreme in Troll City...0
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I've received an email from someone claiming to have infected my computer with a trojan horse virus and telling me to pay a sum of dollars in bitcoin to avoid them sending what they've found on my PC to all my email contacts/social media etc.
I've got Avast premium on all my PCs, and have done Avast scans, with nothing reported found. I've had it on my PCs for several years, so have always assumed I've been protected. I don't recall any flags recently to say attempts have been detected/blocked, nor do I recall clicking on anything dodgy on websites nor opening dodgy emails.
Just wondering how likely this is to be real or whether it's just a scam using scare techniques and just "assuming" I have things I'd prefer hidden on my PC. (There "may" be things on my PC but if there are they're protected by passwords and encrpyted but presumably if I opened them myself, and there was a trojan horse virus, they'd be visible for someone to copy?)
Sounds like a feeble attempt at a scam.0 -
i seem to have had quite a few emails saying they have videoed me while watching !!!!!! but i have never owned a computer with a webcam so it would be interesting to know how they dud it0
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For further reassurance, download, install and run Malwarebytes Antimalware (green button).
You will get a 30(?)-day trial of the Premium version, which will eventually revert to the ordinary version if you do nothing about it.0 -
forgotmyname wrote: »Have they given you your full name and address and contact details?
No, the email had no personal details at all on it, not even Dear Mrs Pennywise, which is why I initially ignored it thinking it was just a scam, but it got me worried as my spam blocker usually stops these kind of things getting through.0 -
And, of course, never click on a link in one of these emails!0
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I have a couple of spam email addresses which have been used for a long long time and in chat rooms where spam bots would harvest the names etc.
I get quite a bit of spam on those accounts and often its addressed to the email address as a real name. Some spammers are just lazy and stupid.Censorship Reigns Supreme in Troll City...0 -
I've received an email from someone claiming to have infected my computer with a trojan horse virus and telling me to pay a sum of dollars in bitcoin to avoid them sending what they've found on my PC to all my email contacts/social media etc.
I've got Avast premium on all my PCs, and have done Avast scans, with nothing reported found. I've had it on my PCs for several years, so have always assumed I've been protected. I don't recall any flags recently to say attempts have been detected/blocked, nor do I recall clicking on anything dodgy on websites nor opening dodgy emails.
Just wondering how likely this is to be real or whether it's just a scam using scare techniques and just "assuming" I have things I'd prefer hidden on my PC. (There "may" be things on my PC but if there are they're protected by passwords and encrpyted but presumably if I opened them myself, and there was a trojan horse virus, they'd be visible for someone to copy?)
Its a scam waiting for that one person who believes it and pays.0 -
TL;DR it's a scam! ignore it!
longer answer:
I got a real great one a few weeks ago...
saying and I quote among other paragraphs:
But the fact I don't have a web cam connected to my PC was my second third that this is a scam. First 2 were the grammar and the fact that it was on my google spam folder, along side the 20 paragraph screed "you're in the matrix and don't know it" conspiracy email with delightful prose such as :scammer wrote:"stole into your machine web camera and took images and video of you doing unspeakable acts of a bodily nature against god. Pay us 2BTC or we post it to all in family and church"loonies wrote:The implication is clear--names like Apple, Gateway, Bill Gates and Oracle all show us that not only are these technologies and an understanding of Heaven coming to us "from above" they are the source of "above" -- through this message and your participation ...
you are the source of "above." This is not a "find and replace" of names, these are not mere "alterations" this is the sum of human knowledge from Isaac Newton's "what goes up and down must be depicted in n" to your innate curiosity--all part of the plan that is the beginning and the heart of the word "planet." RI and GI both keys to this message, as in the "Gee, I El?" of Gilgamesh and Maggie Simpson ... whose name links to Mary Magdeline and the phrase "it's not a gam" see... of words in MAG or of "logic" in the line that is the Natural Logarithm function... hiding the "power of e." It's not just Gilgamesh you can see "game" in Demosthenes[/URL], where you can see me "demonstrating the game" of trying to hide mind control with ... mind control on Wikipedia[/URL].
My spam folder is not for the fain hearted...
Laters
Sol
"Have you found the secrets of the universe? Asked Zebade "I'm sure I left them here somewhere"0 -
I've received an email from someone claiming to have infected my computer
We just had this - is it the same? :rotfl:
4th attempt at copying and pasting it, but won't work properly - come on MSE, please sort it. :mad:
Hello.
Do not mind !!!1086;n my illit!!!1077;r!!!1072;!!!1089;y, I !!!1072;m from India.
I u!!!1088;l!!!1086;aded th!!!1077; mali!!!1089;i!!!1086;us !!!1088;r!!!1086;gr!!!1072;m on your syst!!!1077;m.
Sinc!!!1077; th!!!1072;t m!!!1086;m!!!1077;nt I !!!1088;ilf!!!1077;r!!!1077;d !!!1072;ll !!!1088;rivy backgr!!!1086;und fr!!!1086;m y!!!1086;ur system. !!!1040;dditi!!!1086;n!!!1072;lly I hav!!!1077; som!!!1077; m!!!1086;r!!!1077; !!!1089;!!!1086;m!!!1088;romising evid!!!1077;n!!!1089;!!!1077;. The m!!!1086;st int!!!1077;r!!!1077;sting !!!1077;vid!!!1077;n!!!1089;!!!1077; th!!!1072;t I st!!!1086;l!!!1077;- its a vide!!!1086;t!!!1072;!!!1088;!!!1077; with y!!!1086;ur masturb!!!1072;ti!!!1086;n. I adjust!!!1077;d virus !!!1086;n a !!!1088;!!!1086;rn w!!!1077;b sit!!!1077; !!!1072;nd !!!1072;ft!!!1077;r y!!!1086;u lo!!!1072;d!!!1077;d it. Wh!!!1077;n y!!!1086;u d!!!1077;!!!1089;id!!!1077;d with th!!!1077; vid!!!1077;!!!1086; !!!1072;nd ta!!!1088;!!!1088;ed !!!1086;n !!!1072; !!!1088;l!!!1072;y butt!!!1086;n, my d!!!1077;l!!!1077;t!!!1077;ri!!!1086;us s!!!1086;ft !!!1072;t !!!1086;n!!!1089;!!!1077; s!!!1077;t up on your syst!!!1077;m. !!!1040;fter !!!1072;djusting, y!!!1086;ur !!!1089;!!!1072;m!!!1077;r!!!1072; sho!!!1086;t th!!!1077; vid!!!1077;ot!!!1072;p!!!1077; with y!!!1086;u s!!!1077;lf-!!!1072;busing, in !!!1072;ddition it s!!!1072;ved !!!1088;re!!!1089;is!!!1077;ly th!!!1077; !!!1088;orn vide!!!1086; you m!!!1072;sturb!!!1072;t!!!1077;d !!!1086;n. In next f!!!1077;w d!!!1072;ys my m!!!1072;lw!!!1072;re c!!!1086;ll!!!1077;!!!1089;t!!!1077;d !!!1072;ll y!!!1086;ur s!!!1086;ci!!!1072;l !!!1072;nd w!!!1086;rk !!!1089;!!!1086;ntacts.
If y!!!1086;u w!!!1072;nt to d!!!1077;l!!!1077;te th!!!1077; r!!!1077;c!!!1086;rds- pay me 300 eur!!!1086; in BTC(!!!1089;ry!!!1088;to!!!1089;urren!!!1089;y).
I pr!!!1086;vide y!!!1086;u my Bt!!!1089; numb!!!1077;r - 16Cg8vGVsSKCifCnQboMVpAxJou3phnZp9
You h!!!1072;ve 24 hours !!!1072;ft!!!1077;r re!!!1072;ding. When I get transf!!!1077;r I will destr!!!1086;y the vide!!!1086;ta!!!1088;!!!1077; everm!!!1086;r!!!1077;.
!!!1054;th!!!1077;r w!!!1072;y I will s!!!1077;nd th!!!1077; t!!!1072;!!!1088;!!!1077; to all your c!!!1086;lle!!!1072;gu!!!1077;s and fri!!!1077;nds.0
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