No, I’d ignore it Renton !

Well as they know part of an old pass word I alerted my e mail provider just to be sure

Baz posted:

No, I’d ignore it Renton !

Thank you - aint there some nasty people around?

Saint posted:

Baz posted:

No, I’d ignore it Renton !

Thank you - aint there some nasty people around?

 

Yes, there are Thing is , even if they have hacked you giving into any demands just makes things worse imo ! 

Oh I would never pay no matter what

Just got another

Exactly the same but from another person

Saint posted:

Just got another

Exactly the same but from another person

Hope you told them to uck off ! Or rather not answer them at all !

 I think it's an automated notice

Ok just got another where they are one number short of a former pass word

All I can say is......I'm glad I'm not part of your network 

Thanks for the spite when i'm in need of help

Saint posted:

Well as they know part of an old pass word I alerted my e mail provider just to be sure

I think that's wise.

I'm no expert, but I suspect he may have access to info from previous hacks. If you've  changed your passwords (as you have), I'd think you'll be OK. 

Still, I would recommend: 

Make sure you're backed-up;

Make sure your antivirus protection is up to date;

 Do a malware scan on your AV, and ideally also on a specialized product such as Malwarebytes.

I'm sure other FMs like El Loro can help more. 

Eugene's Lair posted:

Saint posted:

Well as they know part of an old pass word I alerted my e mail provider just to be sure

I think that's wise.

 

I'm no expert, but I suspect he may have access to info from previous hacks. If you've  changed your passwords (as you have), I'd think you'll be OK. 

 

Still, I would recommend: 

Make sure you're backed-up;

Make sure your antivirus protection is up to date;

 Do a malware scan on your AV, and ideally also on a specialized product such as Malwarebytes.

 

I'm sure other FMs like El Loro can help more. 

@Eugene's Lair appreciate your help - thank you

I think links to this site have been posted here before:

https://haveibeenpwned.com/

It will tell you if your email address has been involved in any data breaches.

The site is considered safe, but DO NOT INPUT ANY CURRENTLY-USED PASSWORDS!

will take a look

I invented an email and it said it had been 'pwned' 8 times

So not sure how reliable this is

Article from the consumer advice section of the USA FTC about this bitcoin scam:
https://www.consumer.ftc.gov/b...tcoin-blackmail-scam

Saint, you may want to report this to your local police if they have a cyber section. Also Action Fraud.

If you've done as Eugene's Lair has advised on a scan and found nothing then the emails are hopefully just an attempted scam.

If you look at Action Fraud's Facebook site:
https://www.facebook.com/pg/actionfraud/posts/

under Visitor Posts on the right, a Tracey Cosford has reported the same scam.

Hi Saint I had a similar one last week where they put one of my passwords on the subject of the email which means it has been hacked in the past...that scared me. It went on to say that they had taken over my computer remotely with malware and that they had used my camera to record me watching porn! (lol at this point I started to relax and guess it was a hoax}and if I didnt send them a load of bitcoins they would send the images to all my contacts on email and social media. I trashed it. So I hope you do the same 

Action Fraud has just replied to Tracey Cosford's report and this is what they have said:

Thank you El Loro and Amy

I ran a full Antivirus and AntiSpyWare scan - it took MacAfee 5hours and it came back with nothing.

A year ago my e mail was frozen by OutLook as they said a hack had been attempted - I renewed my pass to the one I use now without any further concern.

These threatening e mails are quoting 'most' of my old pass word but not using the pass word in full - a letter or a number is missing.

I contacted OutLook last night but have had no response - I've had no  further threatening e mails either

Do you think I've done enough with the MacAfee scan only or should I do more?

Well I did a Malwarebytes free scan and it said there were 7 identified threats - 6 PUP/optional … and 1 Generic Malware

All were quarantined

Interesting that MacAfee didn't find any but Malwarebytes has.

It also gives me an option to reinstall these threats if I want to!!

https://account.microsoft.com/

Got reply from OutLook saying they are dealing with lots of this type of threat and to delete it

They suggest changing my pass word and provided the above link for me to change it

I haven't clicked it

Saint posted:

Well I did a Malwarebytes free scan and it said there were 7 identified threats - 6 PUP/optional … and 1 Generic Malware

All were quarantined

 

Interesting that MacAfee didn't find any but Malwarebytes has.

It also gives me an option to reinstall these threats if I want to!!

Different AV programs use different algorithms: that’s why I use several tools. 99% of the time I rely on my standard AV, but every so often - and particularly when I’ve had a ‘scare’ like you’ve had - I wheel out MalwareBytes.

Often the ‘threats’ MB identifies are just executables you’ve installed legitimately but it doesn’t recognise - hence the ‘reinstall’ option. That ‘Generic Malware’ threat is worrying, though... 

I've gotten about a dozen of these emails from the same "person", over the last few weeks. The first one gave me a good laugh, and I reported it as "phishing" to our email provider. I just automatically report as phishing every time I get one. 

Saint posted:

https://account.microsoft.com/

 

Got reply from OutLook saying they are dealing with lots of this type of threat and to delete it

They suggest changing my pass word and provided the above link for me to change it

I haven't clicked it

I think that's the official site. The Manage Account tab would be the one to log into. They are right in advising you to change your password. Once logged in go to the Security page and change your password.

Saint, I would have had a word with our cybercrime unit, but it sounds like you have started to do some of the things I would suggest.

I wonder how many of the FM's have actually got backups of their important personal data?   If not - DO IT NOW !!

I would also suggest that if you are worried about the device you are using has been compromised, log onto your accounts from a clean, known device and make the password changes from there. I always suggest reinstalling or resetting devices on a regular basis, it's like an MOT for your computer/device. 

Eugene's Lair posted:

Saint posted:

Well I did a Malwarebytes free scan and it said there were 7 identified threats - 6 PUP/optional … and 1 Generic Malware

All were quarantined

 

Interesting that MacAfee didn't find any but Malwarebytes has.

It also gives me an option to reinstall these threats if I want to!!

Different AV programs use different algorithms: that’s why I use several tools. 99% of the time I rely on my standard AV, but every so often - and particularly when I’ve had a ‘scare’ like you’ve had - I wheel out MalwareBytes.

 

Often the ‘threats’ MB identifies are just executables you’ve installed legitimately but it doesn’t recognise - hence the ‘reinstall’ option. That ‘Generic Malware’ threat is worrying, though... 

THANK YOU TO ALL WHO HAVE CONTRIBUTED 

Malwarebytes also give an option to reinstall that "Generic Malware" but I've 'quarantined' it, which makes it safe.

I had this one too ... in which they claim to have recorded me watching porn. I almost felt like asking them to post the video ... I’ve never watched porn in my life (oh, take that back, saw Debbie Does Dallas back in the day ... have never wrapped my sandwiches in cling film since!) ... all I could imagine was me going ewwwwwww and tipping my head sideways to try and work out the angles!!

Rexi posted:

I had this one too ... in which they claim to have recorded me watching porn. I almost felt like asking them to post the video … 

Rexi posted:

I had this one too ... in which they claim to have recorded me watching porn. I almost felt like asking them to post the video ... I’ve never watched porn in my life (oh, take that back, saw Debbie Does Dallas back in the day ... have never wrapped my sandwiches in cling film since!) ... all I could imagine was me going ewwwwwww and tipping my head sideways to try and work out the angles!!

Rofl 

Amythist posted:

Hi Saint I had a similar one last week where they put one of my passwords on the subject of the email which means it has been hacked in the past...that scared me. It went on to say that they had taken over my computer remotely with malware and that they had used my camera to record me watching porn! (lol at this point I started to relax and guess it was a hoax}and if I didnt send them a load of bitcoins they would send the images to all my contacts on email and social media. I trashed it. So I hope you do the same 

Did you not ask them to send you a copy as well, as you'd be interested to watch yourself watching porn too. It screams CON to me as it is badly worded and spelled.

It's a scam they have nothing... My local paper ran a story on it a couple of months ago (the email was worded slightly differently but along the same lines) 

It's a scam that has popped up (always asking for Bitcoin) and i think the idea came from a Black Mirror episode 'Shut up and dance' it's a really really good episode. I'd go as far as to say the best imo but i do love them all.

I had a look in an email address browser I rarely use and see that I got exactly the same message as Saint's though from a different sender

It's clearly a scam so I've ignored it. You are welcome to see all the photos that my computer has taken of me but you won't see much as there's no camera attached

(changed the password though)

By the way, Action Fraud had released a news article about this scam back in July:
https://www.actionfraud.police...-new-sextortion-scam

Apparently they've been watching me watching porn

All I can say to them is …. if you've been affected by anything you've seen Samaritans will help by listening (but maybe not understanding). Call 116 123

I think the scammers got hold of very old passwords on hotmail and outlook email accounts and sent the scam emails hoping to con people. The password it mentioned in the email sent to me would have been many many years ago and I'd changed it many times since.

El Loro posted:

I think the scammers got hold of very old passwords on hotmail and outlook email accounts and sent the scam emails hoping to con people. The password it mentioned in the email sent to me would have been many many years ago and I'd changed it many times since.

I’ve had the Spotify scam....and an Apple scam in the last week ....and I used to be on outlook decades ago ....so you might be right El ....needless to say they are on a hiding to nothing with me 

Posted on the BBC site by Jo Whalley today:

El Loro posted:

Posted on the BBC site by Jo Whalley today:

I had a text today purporting to be from the council asking me to confirm my mobile number ....I’ve no idea if it’s genuine , but I’m not replying to it just in case  If they want me they have my address 

Baz, it's better to be safe than sorry