Dealing with Sextortion Scams From Your Email: Expert Tips on What to Do Next

Email scams have become one of the most dangerous threats to the privacy and security of users. Recently there has been a popular email floating in the inbox of many users worldwide. This is a sextortion email that aims to get a huge amount of cash from its victim in exchange for their private videos or images.

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If you are also among the victims of this email scam, then you must deal with it as soon as possible. Here is everything you need to know about this sextortion email and how to deal with it.

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What is Sextortion Email Scam?

The sextortion email scam is an attack on your system. This attack involves you receiving an email wherein a hacker claims to have taken over your system using a Trojan virus. The email continues to claim that the hacker has recorded footage of you watching some sensitive videos and also has access to your email account. Moreover, some attacks might also include sending an email from your own account.

The above claim often appears to be true since the email is sent to the victim from their own email address or an email somewhat similar to theirs. Moreover, the email also includes one of the victim’s previous passwords to trick the victim that the hacker actually has access to their account.

Ultimately, the hacker demands the victim to pay them a heavy amount via Bitcoin else the hacker would send the recorded video and private images to the victim’s email contacts. Since the email seems to be legit, most people often fall for it and consider it to be true.

How can Malware spread through Email?

This is similar to email scams from Mr Beast or Summon to Court for Pedophilia .

Remember that this spoofing attack is just meant to scare you and the hacker does not actually have access to any of your private videos.

What to do when you Recieve Such an Email?

The sextortion email scam creates a feeling of urgency among the victims as it threatens them to pay the money otherwise the hacker would compromise their privacy. If you receive any such email or find yourself in a similar situation, you must not panic. The situation demands a calm mind to make the right decisions.

Firstly, this email is absolutely a scam, and therefore, you should not worry about it, as the scammer does not have any such video in the first place. The second threat is the actual password of your email account which is mentioned in the email sent by the hacker. You must not worry about it since the password of your account is just an old password that the hacker might have found through a data breach. And, there are high chances the hacker does not have access to your current password or account.

Lastly, the question is whether to pay the hacker or not. It is strongly suggested that you do not pay the scammer at any cost. This is because of the following reasons:

• Paying the hacker will only lead to your financial loss. Since the hacker does not have access to your private videos or your social media account, you will be paying them for nothing.
• There is no guarantee that the scammer will stop sending you similar emails in the future. Moreover, paying the scammer makes you an easy prey and they might try to threaten you again.
• Paying for such scams will only encourage such hackers to continue scamming people.

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How to Deal with Such Email Scams?

Receiving such emails or being a victim of this sextortion email scam clearly means that the hacker has obtained some of your personal information, like your old passwords. Therefore, you must take some precautionary steps and ensure your safety against such attacks. Here are some things you must ensure to secure your online presence.

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Change Your Passwords

If the email clearly mentions one of your actual passwords, it is definitely a threat to your security. Therefore, you must immediately set a new and unique password for yourself. If you haven’t changed your passwords for a long period of time, then it becomes absolutely necessary that you change your password.

In addition to this, you must also ensure that a two-factor authentication system is activated for your accounts. This will add an additional layer of security and prevent anyone from accessing your accounts even if they gain access to your passwords.

Ensure Your Webcam is Covered

Although the chances of a hacker recording you are very less, yet to prevent any compromise of privacy it is essential to do everything you can. Therefore, you must cover your webcam with a piece of paper or cloth. You can also buy a webcam cover.

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Scan Your System

There are chances that the hacker might have gained access to your accounts or system through a virus. This can be because you visited a suspicious website or downloaded malicious software on your system. Therefore, you must run a thorough scan of your system and remove any unknown or suspected files present on it.

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This will revoke all the access the hacker might be having to your system. In addition to this, it will also ensure that your system is once again virus free.

Conclusion

To sum up, the sextortion email scam is a common scam that is faced by a lot of users worldwide. Undoubtedly, the scam creates a situation of panic for the victim however you must not lose patience and handle the situation with smartness.

While you must ensure to follow all the above precautions to protect your privacy, you can also use a potential antimalware software to scan your system and constantly guard it against such threats. So, consider installing this antivirus software on your system and remain protected against such scams.

**Should I reply to the sextortion email?

No, it would be a silly step to reply to the sextortion email. Moreover, if the email is sent from your own account, replying to it will be useless. You should instead take precautionary steps like changing your account’s passwords and scanning your system for any malicious programs.

**Can a hacker send you an email from your own account?

Yes, a hacker can easily use the email spoofing technique to send you an email from your own account. Although this is a cyberattack technique and is a way of fooling people to make them fall victim to a cyber attack.

**Can I just ignore the sextortion email?

Ignoring the sextortion email would not result in any immediate impact on your privacy. Although, to ensure that your privacy is never compromised you must take all the necessary steps like changing your passwords and scanning your system to prevent such scams.

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