Recipients of the "Account Compromised - Password Change Required" sextortion email below, which claims they have visited adult websites and threatens to expose them if they do not send money or Bitcoins, are asked to delete them and should not send any money or Bitcoin. This is because the email is being sent by cyber criminals who are attempting to frighten and trick their potential victims into sending them money, or in other words, extort money from them. Almost the email may appear as if it came from your email account, it was not. The cybercriminals used a trick called email spoofing to make the email they have sent appear to have been sent from your account. So, do not be fooled. And, do not follow the instructions in the email.
Also, the cybercriminals may have your old password, but it doesn't mean that they have anything on you. It appears they may have gotten your password from the Yahoo or other internet hacks or data breaches that took place a few months or years ago. Yahoo and the companies who suffered the data breach have forced their users to change their passwords, so they should have nothing to worry about.
The "Notification of Underage Pornography Content" Extortion Emails
Account compromised - Password change required
Hey! I compromised your account and gained full access to it. As proof, I just sent this email from your account only (notice the from email address is[email removed]).
Let me tell you exactly how did this happen. You visited a compromised adult website sometime back, and you got infected, and then I observed every action of yours. It gave me access to all of your contacts, browsing history, your passwords, your webcam, and even your microphone.
I noticed you were trying to please yourself by watching one of those nasty videos, well my son, I recorded your actions (thanks to your webcam) and even recorded your screen (the video you were watching). Now, if you do nothing, then I will send this video to all of your email, social media and messenger contacts.
You have the option to prevent me from doing all of this. All you need to do is to make the transfer of $968 to my bitcoin address. If you don't know how to make the transfer, search google for "buy bitcoin." It is quick and easy. Trust me.
My bitcoin address to which you need to transfer is 13tajCGxzJq8sJHFMQsxBwKGEcRdCmwXYu
Once I receive the transfer (i.e payment), I will delete your video and everything I have about you, and you will never hear a word from me again. My malware will also self destruct itself once I get the payment. You have 48 hours to make the payment. As I mentioned earlier, I have full access to your system. Now I know that you have read the email, so your time starts now. If you are thinking about filing a complaint, save your efforts, since it will not result in anything. This email is untraceable, remember it been sent using your account only?
Don't think about sharing this message either because in that case, I will send your video to all of your contacts.
Bye!
To learn more about email spoofing, click here.