A new research conducted by the UK cyber crime investigation firm Digital Shadows and reported by The Next Web is in the cryptocurrency news, showing that cyber criminals managed to ramp up around $332,000 in Bitcoin from one email-based blackmail scam.
These funds were sent from more than 3,100 unique Bitcoin addresses. The scam was first reported in 2017 but the popularity of the attack grew throughout 2018 with a lot of examples of the emails surfacing.
This “sextortion” scam showed that the victims received an email stating that they have been recorded viewing explicit content online through their webcam. In the mail, the sender pledges to go public with the footage if a ransom is not paid in Bitcoin.
As the report mentioned, more than $332,000 was sent to scammers using this technique in which the funds were deposited to a total of 92 Bitcoin addresses. Digital Shadows also estimates that the average of $540 stolen per email was extorted from each of the victims.
I keep getting emails threatening to send videos of me with my todger out to all my contacts unless I send them a shedload of bitcoins. The #Sextortion scammers are really boring
— Tim Trent (@AluciaCharter) February 18, 2019
The report also highlights that different groups used the same basic scam – and even though some of the emails sent are poorly written and show a hint of email distribution – still managed to pass.
More and more “sextortion” scammers are increasingly turning to social media sites to target high net worth individuals.
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