The Internet has allowed people to connect to anyone else at a moment’s notice. Generally this is a good thing but, it can also be used to scam unsuspecting victims out of their hard-earned money.
With millions of online scams already being reported this year, Aaron Bond, a security expert from Bond Rees Investigations warns Digital Journal readers that scammers are getting smarter and the consequences of their scams could be financially punitive and may also lead to life-threatening consequences.
The scam in question has many names, some have called it the “I have bad news” scam because that is how this particular email starts.
The email goes on to say that the hacker has gained access to your computer and other devices and has been watching you for a few weeks, recording your activity. The scammer then states that all of your browsing history, along with your webcam and audio devices have been recorded too and that they have noticed you are a fan of adult websites.
The scammer threatens to expose the individual’s browsing history along with videos of the person watching these adult videos. This is, unless, a payment is received within 48 hours.
To strengthen the scam, the message often include a password the person has used in the past. Bond says: “When the hackers reveal a previous password it can be frightening as your password is something only you should know, this allows the scammer to gain credibility.”
He adds: “The threat of humiliation along with showing that your password has been exposed can cause people to panic and not think rationally. This scam, sent to the wrong person could have life-threatening consequences so it’s very important to know of these types of scams and what you can do about them.”
Bond adds further to the ‘realism’ of the scam: “People often don’t change their passwords either, so this scam becomes more credible when someone has used the same password across multiple accounts.”
Bond says the best advice is to do nothing. While someone revealing that they have hacked your passwords isn’t something you want to hear, it isn’t as dangerous as it sounds. Often when you sign up to websites you will need to create an account and from time to time these accounts get hacked.
He adds: “Old forums, message boards or smaller membership sites are often targeted and hacked, when this happens your data is not secure and hackers use this data to run the scam. You should always have different login details for all of your accounts to keep them all secure.”
Bond advises to never pay any scammers, while their threats can be serious, paying them will result in more scams being sent your way and more threats being made to you. By paying a ransom you are also encouraging the scammers to scam other people too.
Bond concludes: “Your best course of action is to delete the email and not respond to it. Scammers send out millions of these emails and don’t even know who you are. Delete it and report the email as spam.”
Bond also recommends: “If you have clicked on any links or attachments within the email you will need to scan your computer system or phone for viruses and malware. These are dangerous and can allow hackers access to your system and take control of it.”
