Email scam demanding bitcoin - fooling the weak.

Reatim

sr. member

Activity: 2828

Merit: 357

Eloncoin.org - Mars, here we come!

Quote from: stadus on September 18, 2024, 10:27:18 PM

Scammers have included a QR code for the intended payment and falsely claim that Pegasus malware has been installed on the victim’s computer.

I understand that it can be scary since the scammers know too much about the victim. But data like this can be found on the internet easily. So don’t immediately assume that these scammers have some kind of special or unique ability to incriminate you or put you in danger. If you really are that scared then go and report this not pay immediately.

Quote

The scam attempt seems so simple, yet there are still people who fall for it.

Most likely it is old people who are easily scared and fooled by technology. No matter what your age is, we still should remain vigilant and educated about these kind of things.

pinggoki

sr. member

Activity: 1498

Merit: 416

The fact that they're using the same tactic as any blackmail out there that's much more banking on fear is probably the reason why it's so effective in getting these scammers what they want after all, every person out there has some kind of secret that embarrass them after all and I think that it will work on anyone, you just need the right triggers to scam someone. It's such a sad and angering thing for me that this is still happening right now but when you look at it this way, there's always the fact that malice in people will always be there no matter how much we want to deal with it to the point of eradication, being vigilant and practicing information security is probably your best bet on this kind of stuff.

stadus

legendary

Activity: 3080

Merit: 1292

Hhampuz for Campaign management

Quote from: yhiaali3 on September 19, 2024, 10:58:06 PM

Really interesting, I like that the scammers are nice and only ask for $1950-2000!!! They are very generous and don't want to make their victims suffer too much Cheesy

.

Anyway, the natural reaction would be fear when an unknown person sends you a message with personal information about you, pictures of your house, etc., the victim would not think that it was taken from Google Maps or the Internet if he has not been in a similar situation before.

It’s just a simple scam, if someone takes the bait, they fall right into the trap. They’ve probably studied how much to ask for, just enough to seem affordable so people will pay quickly. The ones behind this are smart, like businessmen, so we need to be even smarter to avoid getting scammed.

Quote from: Hamza2424 on September 19, 2024, 01:25:32 PM

Keeping a low profile in your social media and your actual life is important as it helps you to boost your privacy level and, in the coming era you'll realize how badly your data can be used to threaten you, scam you, and even blackmail won't be surprising. This is especially true when it comes to sensitive matters like Bitcoin holdings and other asset data. The fewer people who know about your assets and personal details, the more secure and protected you'll be in the long run

That’s a good suggestion...it's best to keep a low profile, especially if we have significant crypto holdings. Let those who brag do their thing, since some of them just want to attract people to invest so they can scam them. We don’t need to follow that path if it’s not our style.

yhiaali3

legendary

Activity: 1820

Merit: 1950

Fully Regulated Crypto Casino

Really interesting, I like that the scammers are nice and only ask for $1950-2000!!! They are very generous and don't want to make their victims suffer too much Cheesy

.

Anyway, the natural reaction would be fear when an unknown person sends you a message with personal information about you, pictures of your house, etc., the victim would not think that it was taken from Google Maps or the Internet if he has not been in a similar situation before.

This method of scamming is much nicer than the ones I have heard about recently where young men break into homes and force victims to give them crypto-related data such as exchange passwords, wallet seeds, etc.

Churchillvv

member

Activity: 66

Merit: 5

Eloncoin.org - Mars, here we come!

This days the more we try to find solutions to scam attempts the harder it seems to become, we face physical attacks from thiefs and we also face internet thiefs, ignoring the internet scammers is probably the only way one can beat their actions.

The fact that it comes with a kind of authority makes me feel it's probably going to work with some few people because once you get threatened with your family it becomes hard to ignore as the police advised but in whatever we do let's just keep our of reach of scammers by prioritising privacy of everything.

lionheart78

legendary

Activity: 2954

Merit: 1153

Quote from: stadus on September 18, 2024, 10:27:18 PM

And interesting topic here; ..snipped

It is indeed a very interesting topic. Scammers are really getting bold nowadays. They really maximize their effort into deceving people and scamming them. If anyone anonymous or representing an organization that is unknown to us and is demanding a payment, then we all know that it is a scam attempt. Only people who are naive will fall to that trap.

Quote from: stadus on September 18, 2024, 10:27:18 PM

The scam attempt seems so simple, yet there are still people who fall for it. It’s a threat, though we don’t always know what kind, but for those who aren’t familiar with the technology, seeing an email where the scammer knows their address and even has a picture could really scare them, not realizing it just came from Google Maps. That’s why people need to be more educated about these kinds of scams and the technology behind them to help minimize cases like this.

True, it is a sad thing to think of, people falling to an obvious scam. I do not know what got into the minds of these people who are trapped and forced/swayed to pay these charges. Probably it is the lack of information about this type of scam and or they have done something that aligns with the demand to pay. But whatever it is, thanks @OP in sharing this new scam strategy.

LogitechMouse

legendary

Activity: 2520

Merit: 1040

Catalog Websites

Quote from: stadus on September 18, 2024, 10:27:18 PM

And interesting topic here;
---
The scam attempt seems so simple, yet there are still people who fall for it. It’s a threat, though we don’t always know what kind, but for those who aren’t familiar with the technology, seeing an email where the scammer knows their address and even has a picture could really scare them, not realizing it just came from Google Maps. That’s why people need to be more educated about these kinds of scams and the technology behind them to help minimize cases like this.

When your live is in "trouble", you tend to do something like sending money to these scammers just to keep yourself safe.
Who will be the ones that will fall to this kind of trap? Newbies probably especially those who aren't aware of these cheap tricks that these scammers are using.

It's so simple, but effective at some cases. Unfortunately, there will be people who will fall to this trap for sure. Getting educated is the best way for us not falling to these tricks, but the problem right now is, the internet is full of misinformation, full of so-called gurus misleading these newbie investors that's why it's harder to learn right now compared to what it is a few years ago when I'm still starting. I'm already thinking that having somebody knowledgeable beside you is a must already if you're a newbie, but nevertheless, let's folow what the authorities said to us. Ignore the email, and don't ever think that you're in trouble especially if you don't think that you are.

Scams are everywhere folks. Always be equipped with knowledge, and always learn because everything is evolving, including scammers.

Z-tight

hero member

Activity: 854

Merit: 1031

Quote from: AHOYBRAUSE on September 19, 2024, 01:33:18 PM

Damn, same old. Stories like this unfortunately always tarnish the reputation of bitcoin. People that have no clue of crypto and btc in general often see these stories and what stays in their head is that "criminals use bitcoin", very sad.

If they say that for this reason and stay away from BTC, then maybe they are dumb and they should indeed stay away, because in my country scammers try to scam people of their fiat on a daily basis. It is either they make a phone call impersonating as a rep of a service, and request that the person sends them their dedit card details, they even do it through sms, hell, they also show up in people's homes with guns and steal their money. They should say 'criminals use fiat more than they use BTC'.

Quote from: AHOYBRAUSE on September 19, 2024, 01:33:18 PM

But what can we do about this actually? Without losing the last aspects of "privacy", how can we make bitcoin and other currencies less attractive for fraudsters?

There is nothing we can do, BTC is just a tool, criminals use many other tools as well. People should just learn how to protect themselves from scammers.

Issa56

hero member

Activity: 1484

Merit: 928

Quote from: stadus on September 18, 2024, 10:27:18 PM

The scam attempt seems so simple, yet there are still people who fall for it.

No matter how easy you think a scam strategy is, people are still falling for it, but I don’t think the strategy which you just mentioned is difficult, but I will say it’s dangerous, because the person’s life is already at risk. We have to be careful which the sites which we inputs our details, we shouldn’t just submit our kyc on anyhow website’s, if it’s not really necessary, we should try and avoid it. Because most scammers do end up getting people’s informations on websites.

When we receive mails like this, the first thing which we are suppose to do is just to report to the nearest police station, because the email involves a threat, and we don’t know what the person is really capable of doing anything, the person might end up doing anything if what he requested for is not given.

AHOYBRAUSE

hero member

Activity: 616

Merit: 732

Crypto Casino and Sportsbook

Damn, same old. Stories like this unfortunately always tarnish the reputation of bitcoin. People that have no clue of crypto and btc in general often see these stories and what stays in their head is that "criminals use bitcoin", very sad.
But what can we do about this actually? Without losing the last aspects of "privacy", how can we make bitcoin and other currencies less attractive for fraudsters? There is a reason they are using it of course, because it's still the easiest way to get financial transactions fast and "anonymous". Both these things are great for us normal people but even better for the scumbags of the world. Cry

Hamza2424

legendary

Activity: 966

Merit: 1042

#SWGT CERTIK Audited

Quote from: stadus on September 18, 2024, 10:27:18 PM

And interesting topic here;

The scam attempt seems so simple, yet there are still people who fall for it. It’s a threat, though we don’t always know what kind, but for those who aren’t familiar with the technology, seeing an email where the scammer knows their address and even has a picture could really scare them, not realizing it just came from Google Maps. That’s why people need to be more educated about these kinds of scams and the technology behind them to help minimize cases like this.

My father was saying a couple of hours ago that crypto scams are heading up on a different hot scale again and my comment was nope, compared to those old defi and phishing links things are under control now, but it seems I'm really unaware of maximum scams. I'm not sure if he got such kind of email or any other phishing link or he just made a comment while reading some TG News (news from a telegram channel as he follows many of such news alert channels).

Keeping a low profile in your social media and your actual life is important as it helps you to boost your privacy level and, in the coming era you'll realize how badly your data can be used to threaten you, scam you, and even blackmail won't be surprising. This is especially true when it comes to sensitive matters like Bitcoin holdings and other asset data. The fewer people who know about your assets and personal details, the more secure and protected you'll be in the long run

Roseline492

sr. member

Activity: 406

Merit: 268

Quote from: Adbitco on September 19, 2024, 12:17:25 PM

Blackmailing is something that is too common nowadays because when going into a hotel with someone be it your friend or lover you gat to be very mindful and careful while entering inside the hotel. I can also remember a nude photos of a celebrity that was shared across to blackmail her.

You are right blackmailing is very common and it comes in different forms so is advised for people to always be very watchful from the kind of friends they have and also the information given to them because it can be used against them when they less expected because I could also remember what happened to the celebrity you mentioned how she was blackmailed through her nude photo, so the question was that how dose her nude photo got to the person without an insider, so actually if they really go dip down they would be surprised with what they would unveil, so actually I believe that is only someone who knows the person very well will be able to get all there private information including there house address to threaten them through there mail.

pawanjain

hero member

Activity: 2702

Merit: 716

Nothing lasts forever

Quote from: stadus on September 18, 2024, 10:27:18 PM

And interesting topic here;

Randolph police warn of new email scam demanding bitcoin

Quote

RANDOLPH — Police are alerting the community about a new scam involving threatening emails that demand bitcoin payments after victims received messages containing their personal information and photos of their homes.

The Randolph Police Department reported an increase in complaints from residents who have received emails, mostly from gmail.com accounts, that use the victims’ full names and addresses.

The emails include images that appear to be taken from online mapping applications, such as Google Maps, depicting the street or front yard of the targeted individuals.

According to the authorities, the emails have a threatening tone and demand a bitcoin payment, typically in the amount of either $1,950 or $2,000.

Scammers have included a QR code for the intended payment and falsely claim that Pegasus malware has been installed on the victim’s computer.

Police emphasized that recipients of such emails should not respond.

The recommended action is to immediately move the email to the spam folder and then delete it to avoid further risk.

The department urges anyone who receives a similar email or has questions to contact the Randolph Police Department at 781-963-1212 for assistance and support in dealing with the scam.

The scam attempt seems so simple, yet there are still people who fall for it. It’s a threat, though we don’t always know what kind, but for those who aren’t familiar with the technology, seeing an email where the scammer knows their address and even has a picture could really scare them, not realizing it just came from Google Maps. That’s why people need to be more educated about these kinds of scams and the technology behind them to help minimize cases like this.

How are you so sure that people actually fall for such scams ? Does the report say how many fell for this scam ?
Although it's good to raise awareness but I doubt people actually fell for it.
Why would somebody pay anyone just because they showed their street picture in an email.

retreat

sr. member

Activity: 1106

Merit: 391

This type of scam is actually very scary, and I would also be very surprised when an unknown person sends a picture of my house to my email and asks for payment. Especially in this day and age, there are many crazy people and criminals on the streets, and it is no wonder that many people are trapped in scams like this. That's why as internet users we must be able to ensure and understand things like this and not panic about threatening emails or other things that threaten our lives. Always be vigilant and careful in responding to various things, or if you are not sure, immediately report to the police if there is something suspicious

Adbitco

hero member

Activity: 1428

Merit: 653

Leading Crypto Sports Betting & Casino Platform

Quote from: Agbamoni on September 19, 2024, 11:51:21 AM

Quote from: Adbitco on September 19, 2024, 06:23:46 AM

Quote from: adaseb on September 18, 2024, 11:34:25 PM

Yeah that is pretty scary. Especially since they send a photo of your house and unless you recognise it was a Google streetview photo you are going to freak out and assume they live in your city and you might be in danger.

I heard the ones where they just email you and threaten but didnt think they would send along photos of your place of residence. The things scammers will do is crazy these days and downright scary.

Hopefully not too many people fall for these scams but I am sure some will because they wont want to put their family at risk.

My question is how would scammer gets our mail to send out that threatening mails? To me i think this things are being done by a close by friends or neighbors who knows that such people are holding enough bitcoin or that knows that such person trades bitcoin. Sincerely google street view doesn't give you view of someone's home, meaning it's archives the old post and updates from google so if someone is that clever enough they would know that it's not a recent photos.

It may be someone close who is trying to scam them or not but to clear your doubt there are several ways that a scammer can get someone's email without going through their phone. We know there are lots of sites where we logins our email information, some fake site that also demands an email for a person to subscribe to their newsletter. And not just that most sites we open in our browser cannot be trusted because some do sell users information while some collect the information for themselves, and the main aim is to send scam messages to users.

Apart from such threat, I heard about another one which user get threatened with their nudes or cheating photos. I wonder how they get to have the information of the victim. But funny enough that is where i suspect that someone who is close to the persons is responsible for doing those things.

Blackmailing is something that is too common nowadays because when going into a hotel with someone be it your friend or lover you gat to be very mindful and careful while entering inside the hotel. I can also remember a nude photos of a celebrity that was shared across to blackmail her. Yes of course there are people behind all these and should be very mindful while involving oneself to online sites most especially as you said of subscribing to newsletter and other sign up from site.

Furious 7

hero member

Activity: 2856

Merit: 644

https://duelbits.com/

Quote from: stadus on September 18, 2024, 10:27:18 PM

The scam attempt seems so simple, yet there are still people who fall for it. It’s a threat, though we don’t always know what kind, but for those who aren’t familiar with the technology, seeing an email where the scammer knows their address and even has a picture could really scare them, not realizing it just came from Google Maps. That’s why people need to be more educated about these kinds of scams and the technology behind them to help minimize cases like this.

Things like this happen because of someone's ignorance about bitcoin and ambition to get bitcoin for free so that fraud on behalf of bitcoin prizes but having to pay in advance on the pretext of taxes or other things is always rife even though in the end the method used looks template because it always happens often but there are always people who are fooled by this especially people who are new to bitcoin.

It is important to remind each other in this case even though such situations cannot be prevented directly but we can still remind the closest people around us especially new people not to trust too much with this kind of thing and do not need to be tempted by the lure of a big prize because in the end the first rule (even though it is not in writing) but must still be realized that do not trust too confidently with someone when dealing with a valuable thing (in this case our portfolio assets).

Agbamoni

sr. member

Activity: 434

Merit: 316

Quote from: Adbitco on September 19, 2024, 06:23:46 AM

Quote from: adaseb on September 18, 2024, 11:34:25 PM

Yeah that is pretty scary. Especially since they send a photo of your house and unless you recognise it was a Google streetview photo you are going to freak out and assume they live in your city and you might be in danger.

I heard the ones where they just email you and threaten but didnt think they would send along photos of your place of residence. The things scammers will do is crazy these days and downright scary.

Hopefully not too many people fall for these scams but I am sure some will because they wont want to put their family at risk.

My question is how would scammer gets our mail to send out that threatening mails? To me i think this things are being done by a close by friends or neighbors who knows that such people are holding enough bitcoin or that knows that such person trades bitcoin. Sincerely google street view doesn't give you view of someone's home, meaning it's archives the old post and updates from google so if someone is that clever enough they would know that it's not a recent photos.

It may be someone close who is trying to scam them or not but to clear your doubt there are several ways that a scammer can get someone's email without going through their phone. We know there are lots of sites where we logins our email information, some fake site that also demands an email for a person to subscribe to their newsletter. And not just that most sites we open in our browser cannot be trusted because some do sell users information while some collect the information for themselves, and the main aim is to send scam messages to users.

Apart from such threat, I heard about another one which user get threatened with their nudes or cheating photos. I wonder how they get to have the information of the victim. But funny enough that is where i suspect that someone who is close to the persons is responsible for doing those things.

Z-tight

hero member

Activity: 854

Merit: 1031

Never give in to blackmail, once you start paying a blackmailer, it does not stop, they'll always come back again, and once you stop the payment, they'll carry out their initial threat, so what's the point paying in the first place.

In this case, it is nothing but an empty threat, maybe these people's addresses are public, or they were victims of a data leak, but what are the odds of the attacker tracking you, and if you are scared of their attack, the right thing to do is to report to the police or move to a new home, if that is possible, but never to send them money, because it solves nothing.

glendall

legendary

Activity: 2156

Merit: 1018

Buzz App - Spin wheel, farm rewards

I thought this fraud only applies in my country, fraud like this apparently occurs in all countries, maybe there are slight differences in each mode, if in my country they send it via email and continue via WhatsApp, if we don't have enough references about this type of online fraud, you will definitely be tempted by the amount of money offered.

Kelward

sr. member

Activity: 518

Merit: 317

Quote from: icalical on September 19, 2024, 01:25:39 AM

This types of scams are really terrifying, especially to those who aren't that well-versed in technology. It creates the feeling of invasion through depicting personal information or images from Google Maps. But I think these scammers are just using publicly available information. It is not like they have hacked into our private life. Also, people tend to fall for this in the case of panic. While the scammers may include names and addresses in that mail, they actually do not have access to sensitive data but are trying to scare us into paying up.

Scammers are becoming more innovative everyday and if you're not a step ahead of their wicked schemes you can become one of their victims. There's need for people to be informed about trends on what is happening in their environments and the world at large. Anybody that is not aware or is ignorant of their information on Google map will definitely panic if they receive threat messages with information about their privacy. These scammers takes advantage of Bitcoin decentralization to ask for ransom payment with it thereby giving the coin a bad reputation. The good or the bad can hold Bitcoin and I hope that those that are still skeptical about it should understand the fact

Topic: Email scam demanding bitcoin - fooling the weak. (Read 299 times)