There’s a new form of criminal activity that is scaring people out of their minds due to its personal nature. Criminals are targeting innocent people by claiming they have video of the person watching pornography on their personal computer.
What makes this believable and so terrifying is that the criminal will usually preface the email with some sort of proof they hacked you, like providing a password that was once used on your accounts. They will then divulge that they were able to install malware that took videos of you while you were watching pornography, and that they only way they would delete these videos is if you pay their ransom demand, which is usually in the form of Bitcoin, $1,200 to $1,600 worth.
The question is, have they really been able to get video of you? It’s unlikely that they have really done so. Here’s how the scam works: there is a database of leaked passwords called Have I Been Pwned, which is intended to help people search to see if their passwords have been leaked in the ever so common corporate data breaches, but criminals have started using this database for nefarious purposes. They can search for an email to see if its password has been leaked. They can then find the password which allows the criminal to create an aura of credibility when they reach out to the target victim.
What can you do to make sure you’re safe online? First, do not respond to these emails. Many people are receiving them and paying the criminals due to their fear. Second, use a strong password manager, like 1Password or another such service. And last, make sure you have a service like LibertyID that will take care of the recovery efforts in the aftermath if your personal information is truly compromised.
The bottom line is that there’s really no better time than the present to become a LibertyID member for identity theft restoration protection. LibertyID provides expert, full service, fully managed identity theft restoration to individuals, couples, extended families* and businesses. LibertyID has a 100% success rate in resolving all forms of identity fraud on behalf of our subscribers.
*Extended families – primary individual, their spouse/partner, both sets of parents (including those that have been deceased for up to a year), and all children under the age of 25