Sextorian Email Scam

There is a new brand of email scam going around and it feels a bit ramped up from other scams. Well, it isn't a new scam per se, but it has been taken to a new level. I, myself, was a victim of this sextorian email scam a few days ago. After some digging on the topic, and seeing how widespread it is right now, I decided to share it with all of you. You may be wondering why I would write about it on a travel website though? That is because we are more vulnerable than most in the public for these scams. As a group of people that have multiple loyalty accounts, store logins, bank logins etc., we are more prone to our information being out in the open thanks to cyberattacks and website hacks.

This sextorian email scam also felt a little next level even when compared to the IRS phone scam saying you owe back taxes you need to pay now. And people are victims to that every single day. I thought it was worth bringing this to your attention, since it is likely many of you will be a target of this scam like I was.

What Is Going On?

There is a new mass marketed sextorian email scam being sent out to people. It seems to have really picked up over the last two to three weeks too. I have seen numerous reports on Reddit about people getting a version of this scam, and multiple media outlets reporting on it. KrebsonSecurity even did a full write up on this scam as well.

What this scam is aimed to do is to cause panic. When you panic, you don't always think straight. It is how the phone call scam gets people to send Target gift cards etc. to cover fake IRS debt. Once the person calms down they realize that sending a store gift cards to the government doesn't make any sense at all. But, by then it is too late.

This sextorian email scam has the same gameplan, but they rachet up the fear a bit.

How Does The Scam Work?

With the sextorian email scam the scammer will send you an email with some personal information in the subject. It will likely have your name, phone number and home address on it, or some combination of them. That is scary enough as it is, but they add a bit more in there to really crank up the fear. They are now often including a picture of your home alongside the other info too. This makes it feel a lot more like an individual hacker, who did their due diligence, versus a mass scam email. This info may be included in a PDF attachment instead of in the body of the email. Do not open it!

Your Information Is Likely Already Out There

The reality of it is that all of this information is already widely available. If you Google your name, and put phone number next to it, you will likely see your cell number listed from the search. The same can be done for your address. Even if that is not the case it is likely that information was a part of the hundreds of security breaches that have happened over the last decade at stores, banks, credit agencies that you have used.

It Isn't As Elaborate As It Seems

The picture they send of your house is likely from Google street view. If you search your house on Google I am guessing the picture matches what you see in the email. I know mine did, as did others who have received the same scam email. It will likely not be perfectly centered on your house as it would if someone personally took the picture themself. If it is from a while ago enough it may even have an old car, paint color or landscape design change in it too.

This all becomes kind of obvious to you if you can resist the panic and fear that initially sets in and think logically. Sometimes that is easier said then done though.

How They Rachet Up The Heat

As if having your phone, address and picture of your house isn't enough, they rachet up the heat by adding a threat in there. This is where it can go a few different ways depending on what scam factory your email came out of.

• They may claim to have control of your device(s) thanks to some malware they claim to have placed on a site you visited.
  • The original email may even come from a spoofed account to make it look like it came from your personal email address. This would be the scariest tool they use in my opinion.
• They may threaten to expose you to friends and family on your contact list. Claiming that you picked up their malware while surfing a pornographic site, or the dark parts of the web.
• The threat may say something along the lines that they have compromising webcam video from hacking your device and turning it on.

They will then say you have 24 hours to comply and to send them Bitcoin (or some other form of payment) before they release whatever they claim to have. It appears that the amount will range in the $1,000 – $3,000 range. I think this is to make it seem reasonable to some people who are willing to pay to have this go away.

How You Should Handle This Email Scam

The easiest thing to do if you receive this sextorian email scam is to delete the email and block the sender. Also, as I said above, do not open any PDF (or other) attachments. As a rule of thumb, you shouldn't open any attachments from sources you don't know. Those attachments could be a trojan horse for malware. It seems like these are less likely to be malicious attachments, since they need them to go out in large quantities and the end goal is to get paid by a small percentage of the victims. Having said that, it is better to be safe than sorry.

You can also report the email to your local authorities, or your local FBI branch. If you would prefer you can call 1-800-CALL-FBI too. It may just be a drop in the ocean, but the more information they have the better luck they have tracking it down.

The two most important things to remember are:

• Do not make a payment of any kind
• Do not respond to the email in any way

That second point is true even if you just want to email them back and say that you know it is a scam. Any type of response is confirming that the email is active and in use. It may seem like they already know that, but they don't. This is a mass attack likely set up off a list of leaked info. It could even be a really old list.

If you receive a sextorian email scam then it seems likely that you will receive more. These scam factories are likely using the same set(s) of information.

Sextorian Email Scam: ToP Thoughts

It appears the sextorian email scam is ramping up this month, but hopefully you now know what to be on the lookout for. You should also have a good idea on how to handle it as well.

The key is to remain calm and resist the urge to panic. That is what they want, the scammers want you acting fast and making quick decisions. They know that if you take a second to think that you will come to your senses. They know that over time you will notice the misspelled words in the email, or the fact that the picture of your house is a Google street view photo from two years ago etc.

That is why it is important to take a step back, to breath, and then send that email right to the trash can!