I received a really nasty email last night from some creep who wants me to pay US$700 odd in bitcoin within 48 hours or he will send screenshots from my camera to people in my address book of my visiting extreme @#$%& sites. Well, good luck with that since I am the only one who uses my laptop and I have not visited a @#$%& site let alone extreme ones and, apart from skyping with my son the camera does not get used. So, no worries on that score. However, what bothers me is that I was addressed with my password and that particular one I use only for Foodlovers and my library. I have since changed those. Also, the email was sent to my ISP email address and not Gmail which I use for newsletters. I was wondering if any of you have by chance received an email from this odious character. I wonder how he managed to get my password. My Apple laptop did not show anything untoward when I ran a scan. Just curious and, naturally, I won't part with a cent! Should I contact my ISP? I deleted the email immediately and removed it from trash as well. Good riddance.
PS: Interesting to see that the words I typed were replaced with symbols but you get the drift.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 12/28/2018 05:14AM by Chris.

Hi Chris, I too received one about the 9th December giving me 48 hours to pay up in bitcoin etc just as you have written. I wasn't addressed with any passwords though and I deleted it and thought 'just another scam' and didn't think anything more of it. I didn't think of notifying anyone and I didn't change any passwords.
Regards,
Dawn.

Something such as this, Chris? By the way, the link is quite safe. Such nasty types.

[www.independent.co.uk]

and this.... which is a New Zealand based report. [www.cert.govt.nz]



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 12/28/2018 07:41AM by Marnie.

hi Chris,
I too have received several of these emails, & agree, very concerning when I read of an old but until then, often used password . I did phone my ISP at the time who advised that this scammer has somehow got hold of a database from some years ago & is sending out the bitcoin emails.
I now double delete these & have been prompted to check out a password generator - I have just started using LastPass, but yes its a scary thought for someone to be able to access so much so easily.

Heavens! No, I haven't received anything like this.

Thank you all for your responses. I have got nothing to hide but security is a major concern.

I've had several of these emails also. Given that I've also been notified several times that companies' databases (that I've used) have been hacked, I'm guessing that's where they're getting the passwords from. It's a timely reminder to switch passwords often, pain though it is, and not to use the same password on different sites.

Run your email address through this database It'll tell you if your account information has been compromised by any of the larger data breaches around. If you do get a hit through this, then change your account password on the site that hits, and if you use that login/password on any other sites, change it there as well.

[haveibeenpwned.com]

Thanks Jenna. No breach has been found for my ISP email address. Mystery remains. Had no calls from friends to ask what I’ve been up to either.

Yes, thank you for that Jenna, really appreciated as it's good to be able to check. Chris' comment is the same for me too.
Regards,
Dawn.

Thanks for mentioning this. I haven't received such an email but it's great to be forewarned.

Chris Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Thanks Jenna. No breach has been found for my ISP
> email address. Mystery remains. Had no calls from
> friends to ask what I’ve been up to either.

I think I’ve found the cause of the problem. Ran a check on my gmail account and found one breach, couldn’t see though where it came from but I had given my ISP email to google for unauthorised activity alerts (which from memory I did not get) and I would think that’s where it happened because many years ago I used my google email for MySpace. Gmail I use solely for recipe sites, blogs I follow etc. My mind is at ease now

Do bear in mind that the database only contains historical data that has been collected. There can be breaches out there that have data actively for sale, that haven't come to anyone's attention yet. It's a useful site, but by no means exhaustive.

Jenna Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Do bear in mind that the database only contains
> historical data that has been collected. There can
> be breaches out there that have data actively for
> sale, that haven't come to anyone's attention yet.
> It's a useful site, but by no means exhaustive.


Thanks, Jenna. It’s great that there are so many knowledgeable members on foodlovers.

Ed, my husband, got an awful one in September that tried to blackmail him saying that he had to pay $$ into an account otherwise details of him visiting xyz sites would be publicly shared or something similar.
As he doesn't visit xyz sites he obviously didn't feel personally at risk but he did go and change passwords as the email revealed a password that he does use.
Ed works at Vodafone so handed it over to their securities team.

Covering your phone camera is valid as apparently hackers can use it to see you and what you may be doing.
Ed has a piece of tape across his phone camera that he removes to take photos.

They are common at the moment - my Mum received one as have I and my husband.

Ours I think was from a past yahoo/xtra breach. I did some reading up at the time - it does give you a nasty shock though.