Thousands of people are receiving an email claiming they have been caught watching porn on their computer or phone.
Even if you swear you have never watched any porn at all, it's frightening because the sender of the email knows at least one of your personal passwords.
Sextortion scam
It's one of the most frightening new scams to hit in 2018. Some call it the "porn blackmail scam" or the "sextortion scam."
Whatever you call it, the email claims its senders have placed malware on your PC and have used your phone or PC's camera to take a picture of you watching porn.
They even claim to have a "split screen" image that shows what you watched next to you vigorously appreciating it. Unless you pay them a ransom that can be anywhere from several hundred to several thousand dollars, they claim they'll send it to your friends.
Making things worse, the header shows you one of your private passwords, indicating they know a lot about you.
What it really is
The security site Krebs on Security say this is just a very slick (and sick) scam.
They use your email and a password stolen from a data breach -- possibly the 2012 LinkedIn breach.
They really have no idea if you ever watched porn, and relax: They do not have a picture of you getting down with your bad self.
However, if you have ever watched porn videos on your phone or laptop, you will probably freak out when you get this email, since they know your email and one of your passwords.
That's what they are counting on, and Krebs says they are raking in thousands of dollars from men with guilty consciences.
Don't fall for it. It's just a very sophisticated phishing scam.
What you should do, however, is change that password. It's been compromised, and who knows what other crooks have it.
That way you don't waste your money.
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