How to avoid a Bitcoin blackmail scam

Has anyone actually paid the bitcoin ransom or have you all just reported the scam?

I just got the same thing saying pay $500 to my bitcoin account. Dont let anyone know or they will release video of me with porn immediately. Said they have hacked my camera and my audio. Guess I have to change password and let FBI know.

I scanned my junk file for emails that might have missed my inbox. I noticed an email claiming that one of my accounts (bank/credit) was being questioned. So I opened it and as I read further, it and turned out to be an extortion email like this. I happened to scan only a few paragraphs and deleted the email as soon as I saw the words "Trojan" , etc. This made me very uneasy and so I decided to do some homework online. Now I can breath easier knowing that this is a scam that has been going on. Thanks for all who shared their experiences. I now know that I am not alone.

Same email and I know exactly where they got the old password - Equifax. I know they've been hacked multiple times and never bother to let anyone know.

I get one of this every week at my work Email. Computer don’t have cameras and never visit porn sites .

My girlfriend just received this scam e-mail today. The info that the scammers used seems to come from the Chase Bank hack of 2014. If you have an account there change your password often.

How do I submit a report to the FBI about emails sent to me?

Just got this one and had a big laugh with my colleagues. That is an old password so I know its a scam. I want to know how they got my old password. Hello, I know your password is: ****** You got infected with my malware, RAT (Remote Administration Tool), while browsing the web where my iframe was placed, in the background you got redirected to my exploitpack, your browser wasn't patched so you got infected! The malware gave me full control over your computer and access to all your accounts (see password above), it was also possible to turn your webcam on, you can Google about RAT's and their functionalities! I collected all your private data and RECORDED YOU (through your webcam) SATISFYING YOURSELF! After that I removed my malware, to not leave any traces. I can send the video to all your contacts, over email, post on social network and everywhere else and publish all your private data everywhere, including the darknet, where the sick people are! Only you can prevent me from doing this! To stop me, transfer exactly 900$ in bitcoin (BTC). If you don't know how to buy bitcoin, Google - "How to buy Bitcoin?" Or buy bitcoin here: www. paxful. or: www. coinbase. You can send direct to my wallet, or create your own wallet first here: www .login blockchain. and then send to mine. My bitcoin wallet is: 1QBfCvZUuA3fbXX9b HeeTpqzkYgikvhtXR Copy and paste my wallet, it's (cAsE-sensetive) After receiving the payment, I will delete all your data and you can life your live in peace like before. I give you 2 days time. Since I already have access to your account, I know if this email has been already read. If you get this email multiple times, it's to make sure you read it and after payment you can ignore it. Don't show this email to anyone, it will not help you but make everything worse, this should stay our little secret. Next time update your browser and scan unknown files on: www. virustotal. take it as a lesson learned and move on. MailClientID: 0411864

victorinaindira@ Got a scam from this email address. I had to pay $700 in bitcoin otherwise pics of me adult porn websites I was accused of visiting should be sent to all my mail contacts .

These freaks are still at it. It's a SCAM, do NOT respond to them! Here's the latest email I received; again, it's a SCAM: "Hello! I am a hacker who has access to your operating system. I also have full access to your account. I've been watching you for a few months now. The fact is that you were infected with malware through an adult site that you visited. If you are not familiar with this, I will explain. Trojan Virus gives me full access and control over a computer or other device. This means that I can see everything on your screen, turn on the camera and microphone, but you do not know about it. I also have access to all your contacts and all your correspondence. Why your antivirus did not detect malware? Answer: My malware uses the driver, I update its signatures every 4 hours so that your antivirus is silent. I made a video showing how you satisfy yourself in the left half of the screen, and in the right half you see the video that you watched. With one click of the mouse, I can send this video to all your emails and contacts on social networks. I can also post access to all your e-mail correspondence and messengers that you use. If you want to prevent this, transfer the amount of $500 to my bitcoin address (if you do not know how to do this, write to Google: "Buy Bitcoin"). My bitcoin address (BTC Wallet) is: MetFC2F2MdsBaAAWE1JwdB QU2BkLkNwPf After receiving the payment, I will delete the video and you will never hear me again. I give you 50 hours (more than 2 days) to pay. I have a notice reading this letter, and the timer will work when you see this letter. Filing a complaint somewhere does not make sense because this email cannot be tracked like my bitcoin address. I do not make any mistakes. If I find that you have shared this message with someone else, the video will be immediately distributed. Best regards!"

I just received a threatening email yesterday, but didn't notice it because it was in my junk folder, telling me that I need to send them $750 in bitcoin in 2 days or less otherwise they would expose me exploring a porn website. Give me a break. I'm 70 yrs old and haven't visited those type of websites for many years and even then I didn't ever own a webcam and my any computer or laptops had the camera taped over. The bitcoin address he gave me is: 3B7GuxE6UcENYR58X13W1zV6whUThBXMKW I am retired and have very little in savings and living on Social Security. I'm debating whether or not to call the police or the FBI to report this as I'm sure they must receive a bunch of these extortion threats and where most of them just pan out to nothing. I will keep you abreast in the event something does happen.

Got another scam bitcon addy: 1PC3q4JgAJvHcpsT2LqwoqVN2ckzAVQoxf She/he didn't even bother getting my info right. So these are just form letters now.

I just received this today. July 5th 2019 Hello! I am a hacker who has access to your operating system. I also have full access to your account. I've been watching you for a few months now. The fact is that you were infected with malware through an adult site that you visited. If you are not familiar with this, I will explain. Trojan Virus gives me full access and control over a computer or other device. This means that I can see everything on your screen, turn on the camera and microphone, but you do not know about it. I also have access to all your contacts and all your correspondence. Why your antivirus did not detect malware? Answer: My malware uses the driver, I update its signatures every 4 hours so that your antivirus is silent. I made a video showing how you satisfy yourself in the left half of the screen, and in the right half you see the video that you watched. With one click of the mouse, I can send this video to all your emails and contacts on social networks. I can also post access to all your e-mail correspondence and messengers that you use. If you want to prevent this, transfer the amount of $500 to my bitcoin address (if you do not know how to do this, write to Google: "Buy Bitcoin"). My bitcoin address (BTC Wallet) is: 3KHbVqs178xKCUfF4pCc13fRoEEnERhtVt After receiving the payment, I will delete the video and you will never hear me again. I give you 50 hours (more than 2 days) to pay. I have a notice reading this letter, and the timer will work when you see this letter. Filing a complaint somewhere does not make sense because this email cannot be tracked like my bitcoin address. I do not make any mistakes. If I find that you have shared this message with someone else, the video will be immediately distributed.

i just got one that said Hello! I am a hacker who has access to your operating system. I also have full access to your account. I've been watching you for a few months now. The fact is that you were infected with malware through an adult site that you visited. If you are not familiar with this, I will explain. Trojan Virus gives me full access and control over a computer or other device. This means that I can see everything on your screen, turn on the camera and microphone, but you do not know about it. I also have access to all your contacts and all your correspondence. Why your antivirus did not detect malware? Answer: My malware uses the driver, I update its signatures every 4 hours so that your antivirus is silent. I made a video showing how you satisfy yourself in the left half of the screen, and in the right half you see the video that you watched. With one click of the mouse, I can send this video to all your emails and contacts on social networks. I can also post access to all your e-mail correspondence and messengers that you use. If you want to prevent this, transfer the amount of $500 to my bitcoin address (if you do not know how to do this, write to Google: "Buy Bitcoin"). My bitcoin address (BTC Wallet) is: 3JivrDUMuCareRrpPRztQgKS8Rj5jkbjuL After receiving the payment, I will delete the video and you will never hear me again. I give you 50 hours (more than 2 days) to pay. I have a notice reading this letter, and the timer will work when you see this letter. Filing a complaint somewhere does not make sense because this email cannot be tracked like my bitcoin address. I do not make any mistakes. If I find that you have shared this message with someone else, the video will be immediately distributed. Best regards! i believe this to be a scam so i thought i would post it it came from Jaelyn

I received a threatening email just now from 'Christine Nelson ' Titled 'Security Notice. Someone has access to your system' saying I am a hacker having access to your operating system and because I visited an adult website (I didn't) they're going to show vision of me viewing this. I have to pay $500 in bitcoin etc. I can't take this seriously...

I'm female and I received one that's similar, minus anything pornographic/affair etc related. It showed me an old password that I used to have on multiple, like almost every account (really stupid I know) but have since changed my passwords several times and added 2FA on some. I don't know if any accounts even still have it anymore or if there is it's one I had forgotten about or barely use. I already reported it to the FTC but should I really escalate this to local police and FBI? I know if it keeps happening I certainly will. I was freaking out pretty badly because I have anxiety. But soon as I found similar stuff that had been going on doing a google search it helped calm me down. I knew it was probably a scam right away because I get a lot of spam/scammy emails. But if I remember right this might be the first time or at least in a long time that I ever received one like this. My anxiety has been really bad this year so stuff like this doesn't help me.

i am węll aware XXXXXX is your pãsswords. Lets get straight to the purpose. Not one pęrson has paid me tō check about you. You don't knōw me and yoū ãrę probably wōndering why yoū are getting this e-mãil? i setup a software on the X vīdęos (pornogrãphīc material) węb-sīte and thęrę's more, you visīted thīs websīte to experięnce fun (you know whãt i mean). When you werę vīewing vīdeo clīps, yoūr īntęrnet browser started ōūt functioning as a Remote control Desktop that has a keylogger which prōvīdęd me with accessibility to your display and ãlso web cam. Rīght after that, my software program collected your entire contacts from yōūr Messenger, social nętworks, as well as e-mail . Next i made a double video. 1st pãrt displãys the videō yōu were viewing (yōū havę ã good tãste lol), ãnd next pãrt dīsplãys the recordīng of yōur węb camęrã, and it is u. You actually have ã pãir of alternatives. We are going to ręad up on these types ōf chōicęs in details: First ōption is to neglect this email. in this situãtion, i mōst certãinly will sęnd your tapę to every single one of your contacts and thęn thīnk concerning the shame yōū fęel. īn addītion in casę you arę in an important ręlationshīp, just hōw īt īs going to affect? Next option would be to givę me $1748. i will call īt a donãtion. in this sitūation, i most certãinly will īnstantaneously dęlete your video. Yōu could keep your daīly routine līkę this nęver occurręd and you would nevęr hear back again from me. Yoū wīll makę thę payment through Bitcōin (if you do not know this, search 'how to buy bitcoin' in Gōōgle). BTC addręss to send tō: 13XzpD94uUtXUsCNAjwVM5dP6JNxYfxNWQ [CãSę-SęNSiTiVę so copy & pastę it] Shoūld yōu are thinking of gōing to the cops, gōod, this ę mail cannot be traced back tō me. ī have tãkęn cãre of my moves. i am also nōt lookīng to charge you ã lot, i just want to be paid for. Yōu nōw have 48 hours īn order tō make the payment. i hãve a specīfic pīxel in this e mãil, and right now ī knōw that you havę read through this e mail. if i don't recęive the BitCoīns, i will definatęly send yōur videō recording tō ãll of yōūr contacts inclūdīng friends and family, cōwōrkers, and so forth. Nonetheless, if i recęive the pãyment, i'll erase the video immediately. it's ã nonnęgotiable offer thūs don't waste minę tīme and yours by respōndīng to thīs e maīl. if you want tō have evidence, reply with Yeah then i will certainly send out your vīdeō tō your 15 friends.

Bitcoin Blackmail Just got a similar email from BC Address: 1PUXPKgs2PqnYXrxC3AjGfNGsjorNRZX2n The email used an old password and said it had web cam footage. I don't have a camera connected to my computer. Thanks for all the comments.

I just received this email trying to blackmail me with webcam footage of myself like many of you guys. They wanted me to send money to this BCT address : 1KXdaBcgriTGzpstpDkyHgFTfjrck5gCex. I'm glad I googled this scam, I don't even have a webcam but I was concerned they could remotely view my desktop information.

1LkcEbmmthsxaf7U3NTzLtyu4MmkGcvKDX this bitcoin address belong to the scammers. i have never visited a porno sites plus i do not have web cam/ password they used to certify them self is 20 years old.

I received a threat in my spam folder wanting payment in bitcoin. Accusing me of being a pedophile. I actually laughed out loud when I read it. Beyond stupid & apparently no formal education. It bugged me a little because it did come in my business email, which I really would not have expected. from; Sp3ctr3

Got one on these and immediately realized that they stole the password and email info from a compromised site that I had registered on at some point years ago. Amazing how the can concoct a nice little elaborate scam from just those two pieces of info.

I received a similar email. Your site suggests reporting to local police and FBI. Based on what I just read it appears this is a well documented scam. The authorities must have all the info required to follow this up. Is more more data point really required?

I received one of these today...should we really report these to the police? Not sure it is worth the trouble. The password they had for me was used several years ago and is not in use today.

There are several hacked databases out there - three old Yahoo email ones and others... I actually use a new password for every account, and so I can tell who got hacked before it hits the news. It's nonsense. There's a botnet sending emails with spoofed origin lines, but most likely nothing more. Pornography bores me, I don't have a webcam, I'm self-employed, and I don't use online address books... but I get the same "I haz ur vidz and will t4ll ur bozz" crap everyone else does. Stupidity knows no limits.

I am a female and yesterday received one of these emails with a password and the threat to expose my webcam dirty videos. I’m not so much worried about that part as I don’t have a webcam nor use porn sites etc. However, as I’ve been reading in the comments that these passwords are all old ones they don’t use anymore. Mine a current and used often. Now this morning I just got Another email , same content but with a different password I use! I am seriously freaking out and stressed out about this! I’m in. The process of changing them all but what else can I do.?.

I'm glad to know I'm not the only one, but there doesn't seem to be a 'simple' way to report this to the FBI.

Just got one today threatening to publish webcam videos (I don't have a webcam) everywhere including the darknet if I didn't buy 800 bucks in bitcoin and gave the instructions on what to do once i did it. It was an old password. I tried using the tips form in the FBI website but wouldn't let me submit it. I will try the local police.

So..... I wasn't paying attention to my email, but netflix started emailing me about some strange logins. I actually had a less than secure password for myself on the Netflix acct. So it didn't dawn on me really until I couldn't log in and wouldn't you know they actually waited about a week to change out all of the information on the netflix account. So I cancelled my netflix (luckily they dont show form of payment in the account details). I got the exact same email as you all are listing on this site almost immediately. Admittedly, I do get pretty excited watching soccer ...lol but I have a camera cover so i can't imagine that would be much fun to watch. So, my question is..... do you guys just ignore it? I don't have that password for anything else.

I just received this email a few months ago or so i think. Should i report it to police or just delete it? I haven't used my webcams for porn sites which is rather ridicules.

I received one of the porn emails saying it was my last chance to send money or they would release the video that they recorded of me. I am a woman and don’t go to porn sites but I do have a built in webcam in my laptop that I hadn’t covered (until now). The scary part is they included a video file with my name, which I did not click on because I’m sure it will download all kinds of crap onto my computer. It did scare me because they named the file with my name but I googled it and found a site warning of the scam and it gave an example of the email which was exactly the same as the one I got, word for word and the same bitcoin amount, including a video file (with a different name). So that calmed me down. It made me very angry that these parasites are free to do this sort of thing with no repurcussions. I feel bad for people who paid and I worry about people who suffer from anxiety, depression or fragile mind and could potentially kill themselves over the fear generated by these scams. It would be interesting to see if anyone has had a video of them sent to FB friends.

I have been harassed for the past month through emails by someone blackmailing me with Bitcoin payment within 3 days from my opening of the email or else my bank account and everything else would be hacked and reased. It was in my spam and I opened, because this unnamed person stated he had my password. I have no idea what bitcoins are not do I know if by webcam he meant my camera. I don't know what a dark web is, but the tone of the email spooked me more than the content. Anybody else having the same issue perhaps?

I got this one today. -----Original Message----- From: Adalyn

I have also just received mine using the same tactic, revealing my old password and threatened me to give him bitcoin payment. He said he was using malware called RAT (Remote Administrator Tool). That makes it scarely that he can monitor my computer movement of some sort. His email addres is

SAME AS EVERYONE ELSE HERE BUT TWICE.I SENT A COPY TO THE FBI BUT THEY WERE NON-RESPONSIVE SO IT LOOKS LIKE I'M ON MY OWN, NO HELP FROM THEM. I BLOCKED THE SENDER, MAYBE THAT'LL PUT AN END TO IT.

I received 3 scam emails this month, each one requesting a higher bitcoin amount. Very scary that they are able to dig out OLD passwords that are not pertinent anymore. here are their IP addresses: 1ifEYhprdtwraf73sHzDLutuFjQTMMui9 [càsę sensitĩvę, cōpy and pàste it] 161n2JStSybGA7QNwm1YPJeKnrKsexe9oA [căse SĕNSĭTiVĕ copy & paste it] 1FUMZFMHHNrG8gxXMtPFnht6cSB7Tb4iME (Cōpy and páste it)

I got one just a few days ago...it even complimented me on my taste in women...I have the last laugh on this freak, however...I am GAY, so I have NO interest in women...LOL

Just received the email - as others have reported - it is written in bad English, Bitcoin payment request, accuse visiting porn sites, and also an old password etc etc etc I called the FBI and they said I should fill out a form by going to www. ic3. gov Filled out the form and they need your computer IP address. Let's see what happens.

I got another one of theses last part of the message: You have got 2 choices. We will rĕād these solutĩons in aspects: 1st option is to skip thĩs e mail. ĩn that casĕ, i will send oųt your vidĕo to ĕach ŏf yoųr your personal contacts and also imagine concerning the hųmĩliation yoų will definitely gĕt. Furthĕrmore shoųld yŏu be ĩn a romantic relationship, precĩsely how it wŏuld affĕct? Second choice should be to pay me $1437. We wĩll refer to ĩt as a donatĩŏn. in thĩs scĕnario, i will quickly erase yoųr videotāpe. You can carry ŏn yoųr lifĕ lĩke this never occųrred and yŏu wĩll not hear back āgaĩn from me. Yoų will make the payment by Bĩtcoin (ĩf you dŏn't know thĩs, search 'how tŏ buy bitcoin' in Google). BTC āddress to sĕnd to: 1BiC9KocKv5nDg4vW4BKKr5coAWTCv25aY [CaSe-sensitĩve sŏ copy & paste it] Should you āre planning on going tŏ thĕ pŏlice, surely, this ĕ māĩl cannot bĕ traced bāck to me. i have dĕalt with my mŏves. i am not looking tŏ ask yoų fŏr money a lot, ĩ only want to bĕ compĕnsātĕd. Yoų hāve two days in order tŏ mākĕ the payment. i've a unĩque pĩxĕl within this ĕmail, and now i know that you have read through this ĕmail mĕssage. if i don't receive the BitCoins, i dĕfĩnĩtely wĩll send out yŏur vĩdeŏ to all ŏf yŏur contacts including relātĩvĕs, co-wŏrkĕrs, ānd so forth. Hāving sāid that, if i do gĕt pāid, ĩ'll dĕstroy the vĩdeo right awāy. it is a nonnĕgotiable offer and thus do nŏt wastĕ my timĕ and yŏurs by responding to thĩs e mail. ĩf yŏų wānt ĕvidencĕ, reply with Yup then ĩ will sĕnd yoųr videŏ tŏ yŏur 8 friends.

I just got 2 emails saying they recorded me pleasuring my self, really? lol ...they said they use the auto remote from my computer better this people go and find something else better to do . and they mentioned a temporary password that I don't use for years, also they gave me 2 days to pay off the blackmail email they sent to me. $ 1200 each email. I deleted the emails .... was cheaper :)

I got one of these today (8/9/2019). using much of the same language described here

Got same message by those hackers. Threatening with porn stuff. Want me to send $1000, which I don’t have. Most likely from a foreign country. 1XrkCQZWtnSMquWsfNWeCzc4smfJi2y1i

You will make the payment via Bitcoin. If you do not know about Bitcoin, search Google for "how to buy bitcoin". You can also get the Bitcoin from sites like Bitstamp, Coinbase, Kraken, Localbitcoins, etc. Bitcoin (i.e. BTC) address to which you need to send is - 1Q2FjVUk9TC2YnHsAhvJzKEWgoCKdiTa7C This is the threat this person has sent.

How can you say the scam is "targeting men"?

My username is the name on the letter I receive in the mail today. “I’m going to cut to the chase. My name is RedCircle43 and I know about the secret you are keeping from your wife and everyone else. More importantly, I have evidence of what you have been hiding. I won’t go into the specifics here in case your wife intercepts this, but you know what I am talking about.” “You don’t know me personally and nobody hired me to look into you.” On and on. Had name, address, approx age, threatened to tell neighbors, knew about successful business. These things are easily found on whitepages app and searching on web. Asked for $19,400! Pay on Bitcom. Receiving Bitcom address is 1BLko5X4kSaAXnAk6dBhxnoGiU5pksVgCS The letter received was postmarked Nashville TN and we live in MI.

I got a threatening email that they have my information and I need to pay them $800. I want to know what I should do ok with this email.

I pulled this IP address off the person that hacked my email: 166.62.81.144 saying I had to send $700 USD in bitcoin or they would expose pics they took to everyone on my email list. Shows they are in Phoenix, AZ.