A subcategory of sextortion used by those who want to profit from this crime involves email sextortion campaigns, such as the recent “Pegasus Scam Email.” – a tactic that we have been speaking about for years now.
In this form of sextortion, the offender sends out mass, boilerplate emails designed to scare the recipients. The email typically asserts that the malware allowed remote access to the recipient’s webcam and microphone, allegedly capturing intimate acts while visiting adult sites. The scammer then demands money in exchange for not releasing the supposed video to the recipient’s social media contacts. To make the threat appear credible, the email includes the recipient’s email address and a previously used password that was leaked publicly in some form of a data breach that the recipient was not aware of.
Now, the latest version of this type of sextortion includes a screenshot of the recipient’s home or workplace, captured from platforms like Google Maps, that is attached to the email as part of the scare tactic. This makes the threat of publishing alleged pictures or videos even more intimidating and believable.
Despite being entirely fake, these scams often work because of the convincing nature of the pretext and the commonality of online adult content consumption. If you receive such an email, do not respond, click any links, or engage in any way. Simply delete the email and block the sender.
Knowledge and the understanding and application of that knowledge is power!
The White Hatter
