Scam email alert!! Police are receiving a number of queries regarding sextortion scam emails. Thes - Tuesday 23 April 2019

By Hartlepool Alert

Scam email alert!! Police are receiving a number of queries regarding sextortion scam emails. These emails can potentially cause some upset if you receive them, however you need to be mindful that it is a scam. These emails will usually claim that you have been filmed committing a sexual act on your own devicecomputer, or that you have been accessing pornographic sites. The criminals will then attempt to blackmail you by stating that they will release this video of you to friends and colleagues, or on social media. The email will usually demand payment via Bitcoin, or another form of Crypto Currency. Why did I receive this email? These emails are a form of PHISHING. Phishing emails are untargeted emails sent out to thousands of email addresses that have been obtained by the criminals. It is possible that your email has been part of a data breach which has enabled you to receive this email, along with many other people. What should I do if I receive one of these? Dont panic and seek advice Police have found a lot of people feel apprehensive to seek advice when they have received these emails due to the content. Polics and Action Fraud will be happy to advise on scam emails of this nature. Dont reply to the email or feel pressured to pay any money If you reply you are confirming that it is a live email address, and potentially will make yourself a target for future scams. Never pay any moneythat is what they want you to do and will try any tactic to pressurise you in to paying. Delete the email or relocate it to your spamjunk folder. Do the same with any other scam emails. Perform a password reset and run antivirus softwarescans Ensure that you have a strong password on your email account and utilise 2FA (Two Factor Authentication). You may be receiving these emails as a result of a virus, so run a scan to ensure that there is no malware lurking on your device. Always install the latest software and app updates. If you have received this email, report it to Action Fraud as a phishing email. If you have received one of these emails and you have paid money, please report it to the police.

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