Email scam demanding bitcoin - fooling the weak.

[Alone055]

Does that mean any untrustworthy service over the internet can be collecting user information such as their home and street addresses and then either using them to do such scams or selling them to third parties who are then doing all this? This is the reason why it's not good to share all your personal information with any website over the internet.

If not any other service or website, I'm pretty sure websites that conduct surveys, often providing money and incentives to people for completing surveys which sometimes require you to enter your personal information, are doing such things for sure. I have always thought that these services sell that information to third parties and that's how they earn money.

Knowing these are scams is one thing, but understanding that we shouldn't share our personal information everywhere online is much better.

[Zoomic]

I developed tough skin towards scams like this the day a stranger (scammer) sent me a private message asking for money to take my relative to the hospital immediately for he just got involved in an accident. I almost fell victim to this scam, at the end it turned out that no one was involved in an accident.

Now, I am very careful of the information I give out both online and offline. Bitcoin is supposed to protect our privacy and make it impossible for anyone to trace and steal our coins. But the kind of information we put out there will uncover us and make us vulnerable to these attacks. Sometimes we can't help it but share certain information about us online. To be on the safer side, we must avoid sending strangers bitcoins or fiat until we are strongly convinced that such a transaction is genuine.

Bitcoiners need to be extra careful because bitcoins sent to scammers are gone and gone for ever.

[Dr.Bitcoin_Strange]

Some people doesn't have the idea of how these scammers operate and that's why they become victim. When some people receive mails, they can easily believe that it's a real mail because they don't have the idea that scammers have a way of stealing people's email. So, the victim will believe that the email is real since they know that they haven't shared their email with any body and by having such trust, they can become victims.

People just need to be careful and open their mind to learning and following up recent happening, so that they will learn from the experience of other people's mistake. I know I would have been victim to some situations if not for the fact that I have heard a similar story from a victim of that same situation.

[wahyuagung26]

I developed tough skin towards scams like this the day a stranger (scammer) sent me a private message asking for money to take my relative to the hospital immediately for he just got involved in an accident. I almost fell victim to this scam, at the end it turned out that no one was involved in an accident.

 This is a concept that often occurs in the environment by giving a statement from them as fraudsters, they are good at finding loopholes to deceive someone, but in this case, it takes a lot of attention in handling this fraud that occurs, I myself have experienced this incident several times in the context of being done by calling, these perpetrators always use part of the family members to threaten us with their fraudulent concept.

Bitcoiners need to be extra careful because bitcoins sent to scammers are gone and gone for ever.

 Be very careful in receiving messages from someone you don't know, even with an uncertain background, they are always targeting someone's assets or property including Bitcoin, always secure your Bitcoin from fraudulent actions and use a secret key that no one knows except you as the owner.

[Ultegra134]

Okay, it's a scam, and the photos are collected through Google Maps and Street View. My question now is, how do they know your full name and address in the first place? Could it be due to a database leak from a service or platform that a user previously suggested? The article doesn't specify it, and it's not an unsignificant piece of information. Does anyone have more information about it? Having a random scammer email you with your personal details is quite serious; are we all going to ignore this and simply focus on ignoring them without sending them the money in Bitcoin?

[AHOYBRAUSE]

Fun fact, not sure if that has been posted in this thread before, a popular scam baiter/scam warning video maker on youtube ( Pleasant Green ) just published a video about this exact scam.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kU_Sw0F4qsI&ab_channel=PleasantGreen

He very well explains how the scam works and how the scammers actually do this. It's a short and interesting watch, check it out.

[Hamza2424]

Fun fact, not sure if that has been posted in this thread before, a popular scam baiter/scam warning video maker on youtube ( Pleasant Green ) just published a video about this exact scam.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kU_Sw0F4qsI&ab_channel=PleasantGreen

He very well explains how the scam works and how the scammers actually do this. It's a short and interesting watch, check it out.

Hmm, thanks bro! I'm not sure if this same topic is covered in the beginners & Help section or if this is the same one I'm talking about, anyway sticking to the topic as I've made a reply on a similar topic not sure this really makes us think why privacy is important so that you can protect your identity get rest assured from such type of scams. I think such kind of emails should be reported so that any kind of legal action can taken against them, but what's the problem is in most countries the policy regarding the crypto market is not clear so people feel unsafe while talking about it on a legal forum.

Haha what about those daily vloggers especially from India-Pakistan they are in big trouble, as they sell their privacy for some bucks.

[stadus]

Okay, it's a scam, and the photos are collected through Google Maps and Street View. My question now is, how do they know your full name and address in the first place?

There are actually many ways, though they weren't mentioned in the news article. If we look back at previous data hacks, these often happen through gathering information from social media (some users share their full details), data breaches available on the dark web, which isn't new, phishing attacks, or even public records. It’s also possible someone on the inside leaked the information for the money.

[tread93]

And interesting topic here;

Randolph police warn of new email scam demanding bitcoin

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.

Crooks will stop at nothing to feed off the fear of their victims to get them to do whatever they want. You have to stay vigilant today in this day and age this is not a new trick they are doing social engineering and business email compromises at an increased rate every year

[pinggoki]

~

This is why if you do really have some important files or even with your crypto wallets into your desktop or whatever files you do have then its always been that recommended that you shouldnt really be
careless on clicking up random links no matter what it is, as long you do know where's the source. Usually people do end up on such scenario or situation just because they are really that
too careless on clicking things up around and the moment that they are really that realizing that they are in danger then this is where they would be able to find out on what they had done earlier.

It's weird that people are still doing this kind of thing, becoming a victim because of suspicious links being clicked is so 2010s kind of hacks and attacks so it's really weird that people are still doing this kind of thing. I've heard someone say this thing about cybersecurity, if something isn't repeated at about 3 months interval like a routine, it's most likely going to be forgotten and taken for granted and so I guess with less and less people becoming a victim of this kind of scams, it inadvertently cause people to not get cautious about this kind of thing. Maybe stop going to porn sites and other types of websites that's always infested with suspicious links and maybe there's a change that would happen to this kind of attacks and probably even less victims.

[SickDayIn]

It's the same old "I have hacked your PC and recorded you watching porn" email which threatens victims. It has evolved over time to try and get victims to pay:
1. First it was just the same email, copy pasted and mass emailed to everyone.
2. Next they added the first name of the victim, associated with the email.
3. Next they added any historic compromised passwords from breached password lists, associated with the email.
4. Now, they are searching for the address associated with breached accounts with the email of the victim, and including google maps reference.

They haven't done anything, it's just a scam to get victims to pay.

Sometimes they even sent their own crypto to the blackmail crypto address to make the victim feel like others have paid as it is a real threat.

[michellee]

Okay, it's a scam, and the photos are collected through Google Maps and Street View. My question now is, how do they know your full name and address in the first place?

There are actually many ways, though they weren't mentioned in the news article. If we look back at previous data hacks, these often happen through gathering information from social media (some users share their full details), data breaches available on the dark web, which isn't new, phishing attacks, or even public records. It’s also possible someone on the inside leaked the information for the money.

They can finds your full name by searching through Internet and even they can buy the data from the dark web. We maybe don't know how they can get the data but when we upload our credentials to the Internet, our data can not be 100% safe. We can only be careful when we wants to submit our data through Internet.

Hackers and scammers can also use our social medias to find the data and they can pretending to ask for a friendship to us. If we realize that can be a way for them to trick us, we must leave that and not take anything. We must always be careful when any people who we don't know so we can prevent the scams.

Someone can sell the data for the money especially if he have so many information and credentials from people. We can only prevent without knowing if our data is safe.

[SatoPrincess]

Okay, it's a scam, and the photos are collected through Google Maps and Street View. My question now is, how do they know your full name and address in the first place? Could it be due to a database leak from a service or platform that a user previously suggested? The article doesn't specify it, and it's not an unsignificant piece of information. Does anyone have more information about it? Having a random scammer email you with your personal details is quite serious; are we all going to ignore this and simply focus on ignoring them without sending them the money in Bitcoin?

It’s possibly the scammers got the victim’s data from sites that they were registered on. Trading of users data is very popular in the darkweb so it shouldn’t be hard for the scammers to get hold of that. If I ever receive such emails, I would definitely ignore it. Why would I send the scammers money? There is no real threat in the email, unless I’m on the run from the government or loan sharks, I wouldn’t pay anyone nor to disclose my home address.

[GideonGono]

For me the safest and easiest way is just to ignore emails, don't need to open or read them if you don't really know the sender.
Also always check the sender's email it might just be a dummy acct using a similar email of someone you know, check on even little details like special characters or misspelled names.

[freedomgo]

For me the safest and easiest way is just to ignore emails, don't need to open or read them if you don't really know the sender.
Also always check the sender's email it might just be a dummy acct using a similar email of someone you know, check on even little details like special characters or misspelled names.

That was the advice from the authorities, but many people still fall for it, especially those who are not fully aware of this kind of scam. It's crucial that authorities continue to remind and educate people, as scams happen worldwide every year. And since this type of scam has been successful for the scammers, it’s likely that others will use the same tactics in different countries. And before that will happen, the government has to make an effort to made aware their people about this.

[Shishir99]

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.

There are millions of leaked information available online. Those information were leaked due to server breach multiple times on the internet. This is pretty much old scam method but this time they added some information's and photos. People should know that these information can be collected from your social media which you shared. There is nothing to be worry about.

This incidents remind again why privacy is important. Think twice before you post your photos online and other information you post. Most of us shares real information on Facebook and anyone can collect those information from our social media account and threat us.

[Accardo]

It's the same old "I have hacked your PC and recorded you watching porn" email which threatens victims. It has evolved over time to try and get victims to pay:
1. First it was just the same email, copy pasted and mass emailed to everyone.
2. Next they added the first name of the victim, associated with the email.
3. Next they added any historic compromised passwords from breached password lists, associated with the email.
4. Now, they are searching for the address associated with breached accounts with the email of the victim, and including google maps reference.

They haven't done anything, it's just a scam to get victims to pay.

Sometimes they even sent their own crypto to the blackmail crypto address to make the victim feel like others have paid as it is a real threat.

There is also a software for it, that could predict people's email using first and last name. Although, it's not always accurate, but the premium ones do make out some valuable information if appropriate details are provided. However, the process for this type of scam wouldn't be that hectic on the attacker, but the pressure it places on victims is quite massive that most recipients will get scared.

I mean how they're able to trace down to people's home address, then use google map to frame the location, is enough for victims to raise alarm. In addition, the police should not just tag it a normal bitcoin scam, it's quite a loophole they need to question, for the safety of citizens.

[arwin100]

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.

There are millions of leaked information available online. Those information were leaked due to server breach multiple times on the internet. This is pretty much old scam method but this time they added some information's and photos. People should know that these information can be collected from your social media which you shared. There is nothing to be worry about.

This incidents remind again why privacy is important. Think twice before you post your photos online and other information you post. Most of us shares real information on Facebook and anyone can collect those information from our social media account and threat us.

Old timers will not fall on this, but unfortunately there are new people will came out to the scene that might fall from this classic scam schemes. That's the reason why this attempts will always show up since they know they can still fish innocent people from those scam methods they use. Its important for us to be aware about the risk of sharing our identity online since this is one of those issues we might encounter in future. Also people nowadays should try to educate their selves about other potential risk they might encounter online so these type of attempts would not scare them and they can learn to ignore any random mails they receive online.

Privacy is really important that's why we need to be cautious enough to know first the reputation of the site we are sending our personal data's since its important to know if they are good to handle this kind of document and will not sell this to any random online criminals.

[Shishir99]

Privacy is really important that's why we need to be cautious enough to know first the reputation of the site we are sending our personal data's since its important to know if they are good to handle this kind of document and will not sell this to any random online criminals.

Unfortunately, most of us does not really care about our privacy. If I talk about myself, I have social media account where I have uploaded my photos willingly. Nobody forced me to share real information online. I shared where I studies, wherr I go from time to time, I posted pictures with my friends. I belive the scammers wont be able to trick me because I know how their scam works. But, most of the people's don’t know. Imagine a scammer created a dip fake video of a girl and then started to ask for money and blackmail her, there is nothing she can do. But, in this cases, they should avoid reply to the scammers as if they did not even see the message of the scammer.

[Raflesia]

Some people doesn't have the idea of how these scammers operate and that's why they become victim. When some people receive mails, they can easily believe that it's a real mail because they don't have the idea that scammers have a way of stealing people's email. So, the victim will believe that the email is real since they know that they haven't shared their email with any body and by having such trust, they can become victims.

Actually, things like this are a common way that fraudsters do but because the thinking of some people is sometimes always easy to manipulate so things like this even though in terms of the mode and method used templates but in the end not a few people are trapped with trivial things like this.
But it cannot be denied that their target scammers are definitely those who are not too familiar with bitcoin, beginners and parents whose thoughts are always positive in responding to a condition. It was actually well utilized by the perpetrators especially when their convincing speech techniques made the victims quite easy to trick.

I have felt in such a situation even though I was not deceived because I just wanted to see and communicate with the scammers but it cannot be denied that the seduction in their scam trap is really very good so even though the method is quite common but there will definitely be many who are tempted and deceived.