Extorted for watching porn? Do's and Don'ts to avoid sextortion

You receive an email from an unknown person who claims that he has video recorded you in a compromising position and he also has all your contact records to which he will send out those dirty videos. He then asks you to cough up some money to keep his mouth shut. You panic, probably give in to his demands of a particular sum of money in the hope that he will stay quiet about the same. You then relax and think the matter is closed.

Well, it probably did not start in the first place. You were scammed.

If you have paid up any money, the scamster is happy, while you are still tensed about his next possible action as you don’t have enough proof if he has really deleted that video.

Well, as mentioned earlier, he has probably scammed you and cheated you of some free money. In most cases, these scamsters are actually harmless and don’t even have any actual data to extort you.

Extorting users for watching porn is not entirely new. A few months ago, there were emails spreading across to millions of people around the world, which had almost identical statements as stated above. The scamster is basically fishing for prey and the victim who gets fooled ends up giving him the money he asked for.

Scamsters are simply scaring people that they have managed to steal your porn browsing history and that they have recorded a video of you, either naked, masturbating or having sex, using the laptop’s camera. They state that they hacked into your PC and monitored your actions, simultaneously recording your activities. They also mentioned that during the hack, they have also managed to get your entire contact list, using which they will shame you in front of your friends by sending out your alleged video. While this could be a possibility, most cases are usually scams. The same scam is presently seeing a high rise in Australia and a few other countries around the world.

Scamsters send out mass emails to a mailing list they must have probably got their hands on from the dark web. These lists are available for just a few dollars, and using the email addresses, they send out scam emails. These emails are simply sent across to scare people and bullying them into parting from their money. And you could be a victim if you are have been naked, masturbating or having sex in front of your open laptop. However, there are thousands of posts from elderly users who claim to have received such emails, and state that they don’t even watch porn.

If you receive such emails, you could plainly ignore it, mark it as spam or add a rule to delete it automatically. However, such emails should actually not be taken lightly. If you are frequently getting such emails, you should immediately report it to your local authorities. But to be even more assured, you should not be in a worrying position in the first place.

We have listed a few points below that will help you stay safe.

What to do if you received such an sextortion email?

Firstly, do not panic and head out to pay.

• Do not reply to the email — it will be the first mistake you make.
• Instantly block or filter out most of your social channels, video chatting software and alike to not receive unknown emails, posts, texts and calls.
• If you think you could have coordinated with an unknown/untrusted person, you could deactivate your account to be safer.
• Sit back and think if you may have recently connected with some new or unknown friends on social media, a place where they could get to your friend’s list.
• Report the case to your local police. If you are constantly getting the emails (more than once) from the same person, report it immediately. Don’t wait — it could be someone who knows you too.
• If the person is not bluffing and has proof of the content shown to you, report the same with all details to your local police without wasting any time.
• Get maximum help from your friends and family if needed.

How to stay safe in the first place, and have peace of mind.

• Never sit naked, or perform unwanted activities in front of your PC/laptop camera. Keep your clothes on when in front of the PC/laptop.
• Block out your camera with a piece of opague tape at all times if possible. Only remove it when you need to video chat.
• If you are searching for adult content, use a VPN or an incognito mode on your desktop.
• Never click on adult advertisements.
• Always keep your antivirus updated.
• Ensure you clean up your tracks (history, cookies, etc) after you have visited any shady websites. Use browser scrubbing software if possible.
• Never chat with unknown people online. Especially video chat.
• Never share your personal details with anyone online.
• Never post any personal information about you, your family or friends on any website unless it is well trusted. Breaches happen, and even the most trusted websites can leak data. Be extra careful and curious when posting any such data online.
• Never accept unknown friend requests on your social network.
• Ensure all your online accounts are safe, with strict passwords and all security and privacy settings in place.