Extortion

[goji]

WARNING
I just received an e-mail attempting extortion, complete with a reference to one of my e-mail addresses and one of the low grade passwords I use for less secure sites. Threatening to send details of my web activity to 13 contacts if I do not pay up.

Well, they can **** off, as I also have the good sense not to use my main e-mail address for any second tier activity. So the address book for that is empty. And even if it were not, the correct response is to ignore the whole thing, as anyone dumb enough to pay once, would be targeted again. Most of their fancy claims are probably bullshit. If not, they can go right ahead.

QUESTION
I would be interested to know if anyone else has had a similar attempt ?

[Uranus]

I received something similar a few days ago.

One Mr. Fletch Steinberg claimed he has a copy of a porn movie I have watched online. To substantiate his claim he quoted one of my passwords.

The movie, he says, would be forwarded to all my Facebook friends and e-mail contacts together with a web recording of my reactions to the porn movies. To avoid humiliation I could pay him 3,000 dollars in bitcoins — as a donation — within 24 hours.

To some of my friends disappointment, they haven’t received any exciting movies yet.

[scottish-guy]

Oh I've had the "we have recorded you masturbating to porn" email too - about 3 times so far.

Given that I have no webcam built in or attached, my contacts are bound to receive a very boring and non-shocking movie indeed.

[Manforallseasons]

Oh I've had the "we have recorded you masturbating to porn" email too - about 3 times so far.

Given my contacts are bound to receive a very shocking movie indeed.

In cases such as yours considering the subject only a micro cam was needed hence you didnt see it but shocking none the less!

[scottish-guy]

I'll have you know it would require 3 x 35mm film projectors synchronised in Cinerama mode to display the full delights of my appendage

[goji]

The only question is where did they get my password from ?

Thankfully that password will be no use at all for getting into any serious sites.

[kittyboy]

A few months ago I was contacted on a gay internet site by a guy. He was all hot for my aging hairy body. He requested pictures which I obliged. He wanted to come to my apartment and he asked for my phone number (which I usually do not give out) claiming he did not have data on his phone and wanted to call if he got lost. He was a no show..but 1 hour later I got a call from an irate parent claiming.... You can fill in the details. It was a scam. The guy demanded I pay thousands of dollars to compensate the family for the expected counseling bills..or he would contact the police. I stalled the guy on the phone and looked online and quickly discovered it was a scam. I politely said it was a matter for my lawyer.. etc.. I was threatened with jail. Etc. I kept saying such a matter was best dealt with through lawyers and the guy gave up. But I was amazed at his ability to maintain a facade of parental indignation. He must have been a real sociopath.

[arsenal]

I received an e-mail claiming to be from Restaurant Sat Bains and confirming my September booking complete with an incorrect credit card number. Presumably the idea was for me to send the real number.

[cdnmatt]

Geez, this many of you had issues like this?

Use some common sense when using the internet. There's tons of different ways someone could have gotten your password, anything from you opening a wrong e-mail attachment and getting a keylogger installed, to your computer getting hacked and virus installed because you're using shitty Windows, to a web site you signed up with not knowing how to properly hash and safeguard user passwords who got hacked, to you just using a weak password that was susceptible to brute forcing, and the list goes on....

Nothing replaces common sense, and I'm definitely not about to write a 30 page security intro for SGT. Best I can suggest is download something called "KeepassX", just Google it. Then use something like Norton's password generator (Google it) or similar to generate random 24 - 36 random character, strong passwords. Store those passwords in KeepassX for security, and never use the same password for the same site.

This is basic 101 stuff guys.

[Uranus]

This is basic 101 stuff guys.

Smartass!

[frequent]

Use some common sense when using the internet.Surely even you know by now that there's nothing common about commonsense. It is in fact quite rare

[kittyboy]

The only question is where did they get my password from ?

Thankfully that password will be no use at all for getting into any serious sites.

I recall that some of the large security breaches that have occurred over the last few years included login information - IDs AND passwords - that may be how your password was obtained.

It might be that information is being sold or traded online. It is only a guess - our resident IT security expert might have a better informed understanding of how scammers can obtain passwords.

[kittyboy]

Surely even you know by now that there's nothing common about commonsense. It is in fact quite rare

Frequent - I take a more charitable view of human beings.
At some level we all have common sense - it we did not we would run out in traffic, be poor after giving our money away in scams, and generally be stupid screw ups all the time.
Most people screw up some of the time..lose focus..and do stupid things in the moment.
IMHO - Common sense is pretty common but when it fails..it sometimes fails in spectacular ways which we remember vividly - we tend to forget the basic common sense that most of us employ to survive in our everyday lives.... Having said that I have met some people who I do wonder how they survive as they do seem basically lacking in common sense...they are just plain stupid.

[scottish-guy]

I think Kittyboy is correct but would only add that the one sure way of making almost any guy lose all common sense whatsoever is to introduce sex into the equation

[paborn]

Frequent - I take a more charitable view of human beings.
At some level we all have common sense - it we did not we would run out in traffic, be poor after giving our money away in scams, and generally be stupid screw ups all the time.
Most people screw up some of the time..lose focus..and do stupid things in the moment.
IMHO - Common sense is pretty common but when it fails..it sometimes fails in spectacular ways which we remember vividly - we tend to forget the basic common sense that most of us employ to survive in our everyday lives.... Having said that I have met some people who I do wonder how they survive as they do seem basically lacking in common sense...they are just plain stupid.

I agree with most of this but he is would not, necessarily, be stupid. When Einstein was at Princeton students took care to watch out for him. He could not be trustede to cross the street - head in the clouds/

[christianpfc]

I would be interested to know if anyone else has had a similar attempt ?
No. Only well-known scams from Nigeria and pregnancy miracle.

[goji]

This is basic 101 stuff guys.

Don't jump on your soapbox & assume we have screwed up big time here.
Just to be clear, I have a completely different password regime and different e-mail accounts according to the level of the site accessed.

What has been compromised is a second tier e-mail, not used for anything serious & a password which may have been common to a few non-critical websites. Including this one, until yesterday.

If anyone had compromised my PC via keylogger software, I would expect them to go after some more lucrative opportunities. So it seems more likely that a website has had a security breach.

[paborn]

exactly!

[frequent]

I agree with most of this but he is would not, necessarily, be stupid. When Einstein was at Princeton students took care to watch out for him. He could not be trustede to cross the street - head in the clouds/Evidently kittyboy has a different view of commonsense than me. I wouldn't have read his response had you not quoted it paborn as he is another tiresome poster I have in my Ignore list

[kittyboy]

Evidently kittyboy has a different view of commonsense than me. I wouldn't have read his response had you not quoted it paborn as he is another tiresome poster I have in my Ignore list

Ah... On someone's ignore list.
That is cute. I take it as a compliment.

[arsenal]

I don't have much time for Kittybaby since he pissed his knickers at me recently but being on Frequent's ignore list is something to be coveted.

[latintopxxx]

good thing I dont watch porn online...only abba, bible stories and the adventures of the famous 5

[gerefan2]

Ah... On someone's ignore list.
That is cute. I take it as a compliment.

In this particular case a most sincere compliment indeed!

[colmx]

Goji:
Stick your e-mail address into:
https://haveibeenpwned.com/
and it might help to guide you as to where your information was compromised

[gerefan2]

No way...