Scam attacked!

Merlin66 (Ken) · #1 09-02-2019, 02:03 PM

Received a threatening email demanding payment to prevent publicising embarrassing info.

Checked with ACORN (https://www.acorn.gov.au/) to find it's a known scam.

Scam Warning
Australian police are aware of an email scam where users are requested to pay bitcoin to prevent the release of embarrassing footage. The scammers attempt to establish credibility by including one of the user’s actual passwords, sourced from previous data leaks published on the internet. The threats are not credible and no footage exists. The emails should be disregarded.

Wavytone · #2 09-02-2019, 03:29 PM

Interesting. I'm beginning to wonder if the real problem with social media is just beginning to finally become apparent - ie. old fashioned blackmail and extortion. For example anyone half competent in Photoshop can create highly embarrassing/compromising fake photos and demand payment with the threat that they'll show your spouse. Or fake evidence of corrupt behaviour and use that to blackmail senior public servants or senior managers in companies, knowing they'll lose their jobs.

What I have never understood is why so many have the urge to disclose so much online, yet they wouldn't reveal the same to a stranger on the street.

AndyG (Andy) · #3 09-02-2019, 03:33 PM

Stumbled upon this recently:
https://ghostproject.fr/

The results were... informative.

TL;DR
The quoting of even a current username and password combo may no longer be a shock to many

Merlin66 (Ken) · #4 09-02-2019, 03:43 PM

Whooo
That's scary sh*!t

Wavytone · #5 09-02-2019, 04:03 PM

Scary indeed and troublesome as it found the admin password I used locally on a mac, never used it on an internet account. Now to find how that leaked.

brucel · #6 09-02-2019, 04:08 PM

Everyone should sign up to the free Australian Government Stay Smart Online alert emails.

https://alerts.staysmartonline.gov.a...html?prompt=1&

Of course not a panacea but a reliable and fast source of warnings.

SkyWatch (Dean) · #7 09-02-2019, 05:12 PM

I find the most annoying thing about this particular scam (apart from the fact that it is pathetic!) is that they claim to have accessed my email account (which I have checked, and it is secure), and somehow use my email address as the apparent origin, thus circumventing my junkmail protection program, so the damn thing pops up again with a slightly new iteration every couple of days. Unfortunately my website a/c wasn't initially as secure as it is now (I set it up in more trusting/naive days), and some idiot hacked its password, presumably then putting it out on whatever "dark web" chat site that these low-lifes frequent...

It is all rather sad really: some people need to get a life.

BTW, I thought I would have a look at the site that AndyG referenced, and my protection software refused to open it, saying it was a possible source of malicious code...

AussieTrooper (Ben) · #8 09-02-2019, 07:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by AndyG

Stumbled upon this recently:
https://ghostproject.fr/

The results were... informative.

TL;DR
The quoting of even a current username and password combo may no longer be a shock to many

It showed an old password that I no longer use. I stopped using it a few years ago after one of the sites I used it with was hacked.

AussieTrooper (Ben) · #9 09-02-2019, 07:07 PM

Anyone know why 'homelesspa' is such a popular password according to that site?

gaseous (Patrick) · #10 09-02-2019, 07:16 PM

"The threats are not credible and no footage exists."

well, they may be half right....

Ukastronomer (Jeremy) · #11 09-02-2019, 08:50 PM

The recent scam in the UK is an Indian sounding voice claiming your Internet will be terminated today if you don't act NOW, press 1 to terminate your internet service and 2 to continue

Listen if people are thick enough to fall for scams serve them right they only have themselves to blame, I am over 60 and have aspergers, not a fool.

40 years ago people had to be told "when you go on holiday cancel the papers and milk", now they have to be TOLD, don't post on facebook when you will be leaving your house empty and away on holiday, people are idiots, serve them right.

Why should banks compensate fools who give out their details to strangers

AndyG (Andy) · #12 09-02-2019, 09:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by gaseous

"The threats are not credible and no footage exists."

well, they may be half right....

ab1963 (Andrew) · #13 09-02-2019, 11:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ukastronomer

The recent scam in the UK is an Indian sounding voice claiming your Internet will be terminated today if you don't act NOW, press 1 to terminate your internet service and 2 to continue

Listen if people are thick enough to fall for scams serve them right they only have themselves to blame, I am over 60 and have aspergers, not a fool.

40 years ago people had to be told "when you go on holiday cancel the papers and milk", now they have to be TOLD, don't post on facebook when you will be leaving your house empty and away on holiday, people are idiots, serve them right.

Why should banks compensate fools who give out their details to strangers

I think this statement is bang on,I was watching a current affair the other night about Australians giving money for investments that do not exist and handing over huge chunks of cash on a promise from a well rehearsed ratbag on the other end of the phone......

Saturnine (Jeff) · #14 10-02-2019, 12:04 AM

Also received a very similar scam email a few months ago saying that " they " had hacked my email and my browsing history and if I didn't pay 900 Bitcoins to the sender within 2 days they would email all my email contacts with my alleged porn activity.
Got some sage advice from friends and basically called their bluff and guess what, nothing happened, though I did warn family and friends not to open any suspect emails for a few days just in case.
Wouldn't it be sweet justice if instead of sending them Bitcoin or whatever you could send them a few thousand volts instead. Very low amps of course, just want to tickle them.

joe_smith · #15 10-02-2019, 12:34 AM

Yeah I got that one to, the pasword they used was one i used on the Linux Mint site that got hacked. I search and found a file with all our info from the site, Only problem is they have my email, now I have people from around the world wanting to give me money lol might. Only sad thing is people will pay them.

LewisM · #16 10-02-2019, 12:47 PM

Keep imputing your valid email addresses into a website to “check” for you, all the while they are adding those valid accounts to a database to be sold or used for other purposes...

AussieTrooper (Ben) · #17 10-02-2019, 06:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by LewisM

Keep imputing your valid email addresses into a website to “check” for you, all the while they are adding those valid accounts to a database to be sold or used for other purposes...

If your email address and old/current password have been leaked, that ship has well sailed.

mynameiscd (Andy) · #18 10-02-2019, 07:20 PM

I got the phone scam from the ATO on friday telling me i will be arrested if i dont pay $7882.
It starts with an automated call from a normal number, this one in adelaide.
You are requested to call back otherwise legal action will be taken and an arrest warrant will be issued.
I knew it was a scam so i kept him on the phone by giving a false name and postcode. Anout 30 seconds he had my file and was reading my affidavit and told me not to interupt him.
He told me i will be arrested for 5 years and i asked "without being charged?".
I kept him and his "manager" on the phone for about and hour until i agreed to pay.
I was asked to go to a post office so i got a call back in 20 minutes and was told to buy some vouchers.
It was about now he realized i was pranking him and he was pretty angry and told me he only needs one successful call every 2 days to get his money.
I did a bit of a search on the net and in November there were 33000 calls made and $850,000 was ripped off from Australians.
Well i did my bit and stopped fellow Australians from being ripped off for an hour or so.
I forwarded the number to the ATO and a few friends to do some pranking as well.
These numbers are hijacked and only last a day and its so hard to trace as they come ftom overseas.
I worked out it wad a scam in a couple of seconds but if they targeted the elderly i thknk they could be bullied into paying.
Keep on scamming the scammers.
Cheers
Andy

AussieTrooper (Ben) · #19 10-02-2019, 07:31 PM

If anyone wants a bit of entertainment and to fight scammers, have a look at this site.

https://www.419eater.com/

Tropo-Bob (Bob) · #20 10-02-2019, 08:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ukastronomer

The recent scam in the UK is an Indian sounding voice claiming your Internet will be terminated today if you don't act NOW, press 1 to terminate your internet service and 2 to continue

Listen if people are thick enough to fall for scams serve them right they only have themselves to blame, I am over 60 and have aspergers, not a fool.

40 years ago people had to be told "when you go on holiday cancel the papers and milk", now they have to be TOLD, don't post on facebook when you will be leaving your house empty and away on holiday, people are idiots, serve them right.

Why should banks compensate fools who give out their details to strangers

I hung-up on a call last week that was very similar to the above.