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 Post Posted: Sun Oct 06, 2024 6:56 pm 
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Posts: 1974
Location: Dunedin, Alba.
I just recieved this in my inbox and thought you all might like a wee chuckle :o

Presumably from a scammer that got some of my details on the dark web following the hack of a legitimate company?

For obvious reasons i'll redact my info from the text in the pdf attachment that came with the email [copied and pasted below].

The email subject was simply my name in block capitals.
The content was my name, home address, and landline number.
Clearly they also had my email address.

I won't drill down into why i found this so funny, i'm sure you are all more than capable of seeing the funny side for yourself.... especially when i don't have a webcam on my PC and the phone number is for a landline, not a mobile phone.

Quote:
<NAME>,

I know that calling <redacted phone number> or visiting <redacted address> would be a convenient way to reach
you in case you don't cooperate. Don't try to escape from this. You've no idea what I'm capable of in <redacted City>
.

I suggest you read this message carefully. Take a moment to chill, breathe, and analyze it thoroughly. 'Cause
we're about to discuss a deal between you and me, and I ain't playing games. You do not know anything about
me but I know you very well and right now, you are thinking how, right?

Well, you've been a bit careless lately, scrolling through those videos and venturing into the darker corners of
cyberspace. I actually installed a Malware on a porn website and you accessed it to watch(you know what I
mean). While you were busy watching videos, your smartphone began operating as a RDP (Remote Control)
which provided me with total control over your device. I can look at everything on your screen, switch on
your cam and mic, and you wouldn't even notice. Oh, and I've got access to all your emails, contacts, and
social media accounts too.

Been keeping tabs on your pathetic life for a while now. It is simply your misfortune that I got to know about
your blunder. I gave in more days than I probably should've exploring into your life. Extracted quite a bit of
juicy info from your system. and I've seen it all. Yeah, Yeah, I've got footage of you doing embarrassing things
in your house (nice setup, by the way). I then developed videos and screenshots where on one side of the
screen, there's the videos you were playing, and on the other half, it is your vacant face. With just a click, I can
send this filth to every single of your contacts.

I see you are getting anxious, but let's get real. Honestly, I am willing to wipe the slate clean, and allow you to
continue with your regular life and wipe your slate clean. I am going to offer you two alternatives.
First Choice is to turn a blind eye to my e-mail. Let's see what will happen if you opt this option. I will send
your video to your entire contacts. The video is lit, and I can't even fathom the embarrasement you'll face
when your colleagues, friends, and fam check it out. But hey, that's life, ain't it? Don't be playing the victim
here.

Second option is to pay me, and be confidential about it. We will name this my “privacy tip”. Now Lets see
what happens when you select this way out. Your filthy secret remains private. I will wipe everything clean
once you come through with the payment. You'll transfer the payment by Bitcoin only. I want you to know I'm
aiming for a win-win here. I'm a person of integrity.

Amount to be paid: USD 2000
BTC ADDRESS: <redacted>


Once you pay up, you'll sleep like a baby. I keep my word.

Notice: You got one day to sort this out and I will only accept Bitcoin. I have a unique pixel within this
message, and at this moment I've been notified that you've read through this email message. This email and
Bitcoin address are custom-made for you, untraceable. If you are unfamiliar with Bitcoin, google it. You can
buy it online or through a Bitcoin ATM in your neighborhood. There's no point in replying to this email or
negotiating, it's pointless my price is fixed. As soon as you send the complete payment, my system will inform
me and I will wipe out all the dirt I got on you. Remember if I catch that you've shared or discussed this
message with someone else, your shitty video will instantly start getting sent to your contacts and I will post a
physical tape to all of your neighborhood next week. And don't even think about turning off your phone or
resetting it to factory settings. It's pointless. I don't make mistakes, [b]<redacted FORENAME[>/b].

See you here?

Attached is a pic of my street in which you can clearly see signs of photo editing, zoom in and the Google watermark comes into view, 'copyright watermark is 2022', almost certainly taken from a Google Street View camera!

Honestly, those online tips about covering your camera aren't as useless as they seem. Now, I am waiting for
my payment..


I hate online scammers with a passion and this fool will be waiting until hell freezes over for his 2,000 USD!

The sad thing is there are some out there who will be freaked out by this scam and pay the money :evil:


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 Post Posted: Sun Oct 06, 2024 7:26 pm 
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Location: The state of confusion; I just use Wyoming for mail.
OLD scam that has been around for years.

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 Post Posted: Sun Oct 06, 2024 7:54 pm 
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welcoming committee
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Joined: Sun Jan 13, 2013 4:13 pm
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Location: Dunedin, Alba.
Ah ok... i've never seen such targeted information via email like that before... i was aware there was an "Eye4Fraud" hack in Feb 2023 that potentially leaked the specific data for that specific email address, it somewhat surprised me it took so long to get spam with that personal information on that email address so thought that maybe it was something new... that said, it does have a strong whiff of social media diatribe about it so maybe i should have done what i've always done... ignored and deleted it.

Fyi, after i was made aware of the Eye4Fraud hack in 2023 i did change all my passwords... something i'll probably do again in the morning.


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 Post Posted: Mon Oct 07, 2024 2:27 pm 
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I've gotten a few of those over the years. I immediately knew it was a scam since I don't do porn -- yes, I'm old and boring. :-P

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 Post Posted: Tue Oct 08, 2024 4:25 pm 
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welcoming committee
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Location: Dunedin, Alba.
I thought about starting a new thread for this but as it's UK specific here will likely do.

FYI, moneysavingexpert.com is a highly respected comsumer advice website in the UK, it's entirely independent and its founder Martin Lewis is in my opinion one of the very few people who deserve the title of 'a good guy'.

To be clear, this is UK specific so if you're reading this and you're outside of the UK it won't apply to you.

Q&A: Banks MUST now refund some scam victims – what the new rules mean for you
Quote:
If you're scammed into making a bank transfer to a fraudster, your bank MUST now refund you in most cases, under new industry-wide rules coming into force today (Monday 7 October). But you still need to be cautious when making payments, as you may have up to £100 deducted from your refund – and banks will be able to reject claims entirely if they find you were really careless.

Bank transfer scams – also known as "authorised push payment (APP)" fraud – cost individuals and businesses at least £459.7 million in 2023, according to the latest figures from industry trade body UK Finance. Yet only 62% of this (£287.3 million) was returned to victims – something the new rules are aiming to change.

What are bank transfer scams?

It's where you get tricked into sending money from your account to a fraudster's. Common examples include:

Purchase scams – where you're tricked into paying for goods that don't exist.

Romance scams – where you're duped into thinking you're in a relationship with a swindler.

Impersonation scams – where fraudsters pretend to be from your bank or the police and pressure you into transferring money to a "safe account".

Investment scams – where scammers clone the websites of legitimate firms, or entice you to put money into fake schemes.

Spoofing scams – where the scammers intercept and hijack your communications with someone else (for example, a family member or solicitors' firm).

These scams are often incredibly sophisticated and very convincing. See our 30+ ways to stop scams guide for help spotting them and tips to help you avoid them.

Source and a lot more:
https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/news/2024/10/bank-transfer-scam-refund-rules/


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 Post Posted: Tue Oct 08, 2024 9:52 pm 
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It's a step in the right direction (for the UK), but so much more needs to be done to prevent the scams and punish the scammers.

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Microsoft MVP 2004 - 2020
"Life's always an adventure with computers!"


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 Post Posted: Tue Oct 08, 2024 10:21 pm 
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welcoming committee
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Location: Dunedin, Alba.
sboots wrote:
It's a step in the right direction (for the UK), but so much more needs to be done to prevent the scams and punish the scammers.

Short of invading the countries where these scams originate from i'm not sure sure there'e much we can do to stop these scams... that said, and probably why i was so surpsised to see the emali that sparked this thread, is that i rarely see any spam emails or cold calls now.

I also very rarely get any cold call scam phone calls on either my landline or mobile.

I don't know how or what changed but whatever happened it was almost overnight... i went from multiple calls per day to none the next day about a year ago.

While i do know that prior to whatever changed i could limit the calls by name dropping some of the more well known 'scam baiters' into the 'conversation' but it never stopped the calls... my understanding at the time was that if the scammer knew it was pointless contacting my phone number(s) then they would simply remove my number from their database.

Yet, out the blue they stopped.

Whether that was through government pressure or not i doubt i'll ever know.. but it does suggest that telco companies do have the power to stop this.... add that it'll likely cost the banks a fortune in claims.... and, well, do i ned to say any more.


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 Post Posted: Wed Oct 09, 2024 10:25 pm 
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I get a few scam calls per week at most on my cell phone, but I used to get many more. In the US there has been some progress in stopping some of the robocallers by the telcos, but I'm sure that more can be done.

I've begun getting more spam (one or two daily) on my primary email that manages to get past the filters on my Exchange host service. They are easy to recognize, though, so I just block them in Outlook which also reports it as spam back to the host.

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Microsoft MVP 2004 - 2020
"Life's always an adventure with computers!"


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