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Bluewin won’t be free for much longer – here’s how to get around it
by Florian Bodoky
Sextortion 2.0: «Don’t make us visit you at this address»
8.10.2024
Translation: Katherine Martin
October has started off with another significant wave of blackmail e-mails, some of which have ended up in Swiss inboxes. This time, victims are more shaken up than ever. Why? Because the perpetrators have their mobile numbers, home addresses and photos of their houses. Despite this, you should never pay a cent if it happens to you.
Sextortion in itself isn’t a new phenomenon. Cyber criminals send e-mails to innocent recipients, claiming to have gained access to their webcam or computer and stolen compromising video footage. They tell their victims that they’ve been videoed «visiting websites of a pornographic nature», then demand hush money. Hence the term «sextortion», a combination of «sex» and «extortion».
A new level of intimidation
Although sextortion e-mails were initially shocking, the upset soon died down. Sent piecemeal to random e-mail addresses, they sounded generic and vaguely formulated – an obvious bulk e-mail. Not only that, but major e-mail providers and their spam filters ensured many users didn’t even see the messages.
There are even stories on Reddit about such threats being sent by post – at least in the USA.
Corporate data leakages are to blame
- Go to haveibeenpwned.com
- Enter your e-mail address and click on the «pwned?» button. All data leaks you’ve been affected by will be displayed
Note: don’t be surprised if there are multiple leaks. Older e-mail addresses that have been in use for a while are particularly likely to show up in several such data breaches. This isn’t necessarily down to you – it could also be a result of some manufacturers’ carelessness. If you have a strong password and have activated your provider’s multi-factor identification feature, you’ll still be pretty secure.
Don’t get intimidated
Header image: Shutterstock
I've been tinkering with digital networks ever since I found out how to activate both telephone channels on the ISDN card for greater bandwidth. As for the analogue variety, I've been doing that since I learned to talk. Though Winterthur is my adoptive home city, my heart still bleeds red and blue.
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