Last Updated on July 7, 2023
Should I Ignore Sextortion Emails? This is a real question we’ll discuss in this article.
“ATTN: YOUR NAME, OPEN THIS MESSAGE NOW”
It looks like junk, but somehow it landed in your inbox. Interesting – the e-mail header looks to be your own e-mail address? How is that possible? When you open it, it reads…
Greetings!
Sadly for you, bad news is here. Some several times ago I am obtaining backdoor to your system you have using to search internet.
Thusly, I have gone through with the tracking of internet activity of yours.
The things I do so far are as I say: Very recent I have purchased access from leaks of many email accounts – simple job that can be done today online. As you see I am very smart man and have bypassed security to log into your account ([email protected]). If needing is more proof your password is YOURPASS****
Only short time after I put Trojan Horse virus on computer of yours and all devices used with e-mail. Very simple because you click links in e-mail inbox without knowing my smart plan, so simple child can do ^_^ ^_^
This virus of me is great virus, and I control your computer with. Video, camera, microphone, keyboard, mouse I have all. I take your data and web history, contacts and messages, social media. My very smart virus hide so deep your antivirus never will see from it. I only reveal my smart self now because it is right time.
While I browse your data, I see You like XXX fun time too, do you? Big time porn websites you have on here, and you like it filthy. I record from camera you self-abusing yourself many time now. So good, but bad you!
My meaning is serious for I am smart moral person. I only need a few steps to put video with friends and family. Maybe I send boss at work too, to see such dirty self-abuse, maybe send to porn site you love so you get passion from yourself 😉 😉
You can stop it from this:
Send me $1500 transfer to my account (bitcoin equivalent, based on exchange rate for transfer) and after I get, I delete all your dirty self-abuse. Good trade for such a lesson from smart man like me.
You find bitcoin wallet in note I attach to message and you have 24 hours after you open this e-mail 1 day exact. I will know when you open too for I am smart man still in your system 😉 😉 😉 😉
What you’ve just read above is a recreated sample of a sextortion e-mail scam. These sorts of scams have been circulating the web for several years now, a seemingly more passive variant of the standard sextortion scam. Should you ignore this sextortion e-mail? That may be what you ask yourself, should you receive this kind of message. In the following, we’ll break down this scam to better understand how to handle sextortion e-mail and know whether or not you’re a sextortion victim.
Should I Ignore Sextortion Emails…..
Should I Ignore Sextortion Emails? – Ignorance is Bliss
To start, no matter the situation you are in, never pay money to sextortionists, this is not how to handle sextortion e-mails. No matter if you decide to ignore or address a message like the sample above, never put money into the situation – sextortionists do not stop, almost ever, at one payment, as paying them signals to these scammers that you’re both someone who has money to do so, and are at the least able to be intimidated enough by their actions to send them something. Any online sextortion situation is, at its core, a mental battle just as much as it is a verbal one for a sextortion victim.
Secondly, never open any attachments on a sextortion mail message. Earlier in the sample message, the perpetrators claimed that they had a backdoor into the user’s systems at the time they sent the e-mail to them. This is typically not true – the backdoor access most often comes from e-mail attachments in the first place, and could give these sextortionists the access they claimed they already had (but, might still have). Even if the body of the e-mail claims there’s additionally proof in the attachment, simply do not open it – your curiosity is not worth the risk of putting yourself in danger of being sextorted.
Behind the Curtain
As we mention in the last section, very often the means by which sextortion e-mail scammers claim they operate is a bluff. Very often these e-mails sextortionists will prey on panic, anxiety, and curiosity to lure you into opening their attachments or respond to their e-mail.
They also use other smoke-and-mirror techniques to try to convince you of their infiltration of your systems. For example, in the above sample the sextortionist indicated that the e-mail they sent was sent from the user’s own account, and the scammer then provided a password of the user’s as proof of further information. Be aware, these can both also be bluffs – at least, partially.
E-mail addresses are easy to spoof, and have likely done so in the case of the sample (spoofing is the term for falsely duplicating the appearance of something else). Additionally, thanks to countless data breaches across many companies. Most people have at least a handful of exposed passwords online. Chances are good that the sextortionists in this case provided an old password. But, if it is a current password, change it! Enable two-factor authentication. If the account that password is attached to allows it for extra security.
Behind the Curtain
However, there are instances where less basic scammers will precursor an email like this with others. Usually disguised as advertisements or other seemingly benign emails, that are already preloaded with malware and spyware. These emails will often have attached or embedded images in their body. Which have the potential of harboring the viral agents that may precede a sextortion email like this. When considering this, it’s entirely possible that a scammer may have exactly what they claim they have in a sextortion email, and you are not idly being sextorted.
There are risks to ignoring and engaging in the situation, to sum it up. It’s just as possible as not that they may be bluffing, or they may be an actual threat. This makes sextortion scams one of the most difficult to gain insight into, due to the variables involved. We say, “Never take the risk!”
Sextortion What To Do?
So, should I ignore sextortion email if I were to receive one? The answer to the question is murky, at best. If you’re confident in your antivirus software of choice, perhaps the answer is ‘Yes, ignore the sextortion email!’. If not, and the mystery is too great, the answer is most assuredly ‘no.’
There are countless individuals and organizations that are actively assisting and investigating on behalf of people in that very situation all around the globe.
Shop around, and find a group that fits your needs best – but for our part here at Cyber Investigation, we see these sorts of case every day, many times over. We can help put your mind at ease. We have more than a decade in the field of cyber security and digital forensics, with an over 90% rate of success when to helping sextortion victims. If you’re a sextortion victim, our team is available 24/7 to hear your case. Reach out to us online any time to speak with one of our representatives. We are available via our chat platform, or at 1-888-210-2373.
We hope, either way, you know more about whether you should ignore sextortion email now. Check back with us soon for more articles like these in the future! Now You Know The answer to the question – Should I Ignore Sextortion Emails. If faced with online sextortion – seek professional help. Contact our sextortion helpline 24/7. We’ve helped thousands to stop sextortion
