Cyber-Attacks are Coming Via Email

Recently, several customers received an email that threatens to post videos of them watching suggestive or inappropriate videos on the internet if they didn’t pay $2,900.00 in bitcoin. The email continued to say that malware and remote control software was installed on their computer allowing the collection of the video. The email immediately gets your attention by listing a password that you are currently using.

I am aware, $*@&$*%&, is your password. You may not know me and you're most likely thinking why you are getting this email, right?

In fact, I actually installed a malware on the adult website you visited. While you were watching videos, your web browser started out working as a RDP (Remote Desktop) that has a keylogger which gave me access to your screen and webcam. Right after that, my software program gathered all your contacts from your Messenger, Facebook, and email.

Well not to worry – the spammer does NOT have a video of you watching lewd videos. If the spammer had access to your computer, your computer would already be asking for payment. Unfortunately, the spammer did gain access to email addresses and passwords. They will most likely continue to use it to manipulate users into giving more information.

We have seen several dozen of these email scams hit our network and we are notifying clients of the scam and working to get these messages blocked.

We believe this list of accounts was obtained from recent hacks to companies like Ancestry 2015, Adobe 2013, Avast 2014, B2B 2017, Comcast 2015, Dominos 2014, Dropbox 2012, LinkedIn 2016, Snapchat 2015 and Sony 2011, to name few.

If you received the email:

1. Do not respond. Don’t become a target. Just DELETE THE MESSAGE.
2. If you still use the password listed in the email, you need to update any accounts using that password as soon as possible. There is nothing stopping the spammer from trying to access accounts and once in, it becomes very difficult to fix.
3. Don’t enter your password on any sites to check and see if your password has been hacked or stolen. This is another attempt to update the list with current passwords.

We expect additional scams to follow saying your account has been compromised and to visit sites to confirm. Don’t get tricked by these phishing scams. If you have a concern, contact our help desk and a network technician will promptly make sure your accounts and workstation are secure.