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Last updated on July 5th, 2024 at 01:02 pm
I thought this was worth sharing. With so many scams going around lately it’s hard to keep up with them. There are always the old tried and true ones that include the lottery winnings scam or countless others.
This Bitcoin scam isn’t new nor is it very creative. I came across a great article from Malwarebytes Labs discussing the same or similar email I had today and in the past.
Nothing New
I shared about this scam or a similar one requesting Bitcoin payment in two videos a few weeks back. You can view them below.
The odd thing about both emails is that you can point out the spelling errors. I also found it odd that one email requested the Bitcoin in Euros and the other email requested USD. Either way, they both want what can be considered a ransom for a video file they claim to have.
What gets me is how they equate the value of Bitcoin to a USD or a Euro. I happened to check Goggle and found this. As of today, 7/30/19 Bitcoin is worth over 9,000 dollars US. I admit the topic of Bitcoin is foreign to me I know its a digital currency but that’s about it. If someone can share how they manage to come up with these figures I’d love to learn more.
Back to the topic
Now let’s get back to the topic at hand. So I stated above I’m no stranger to Bitcoin scam emails but this one today was longer than usual. The email was sent to my blog email address. It also ended up in my inbox, not in my spam folder. I will post the screenshots below
I thought it was unique that the anonymous hacker used various fonts changes in words. I also noticed that they seemed to really want the ransom because they claimed they would send the compromising file to my contact list. I also noted that the opening lines are targeted more to a male than a female.
Heres some examples of what I mean.
So now what?
Well like with most scams I can say there are the things you need to do.
- Don’t send money of any kind
- Spam the message if it ended up in your inbox
You can also run a virus or malware scan or both if you feel the need too. I also found out that you can look up Bitcoin accounts to see if they are valid or not. Granted you won’t be sending any money to said Anonymous hackers but it’s still nice to know if it’s a real account.
If you opt to do this I came across a great site during my last search for the second Bitcoin scam I was sent. Bitcoin Abuse Database is a free site you can use to check if Bitcoin accounts are real. If they are you can file a complaint for abuse. You can also copy the Bitcoin account and search for it via Google as well. I’m not saying you need to do any of these steps but if you’re interested you can check them out.
The main point is don’t contact the scammers or reply back to the emails. You don’t know what the consequences might be. Also, don’t send any form of payment no matter what they are asking for. If you know you didn’t visit any porn sites or any adult sites there is no video.
I hoped this post helps spread the word on all these silly scam emails.
