Extortion scam emails

It is a type of online scam, where scammers claim to hack a victim's device and threaten to distribute their private and sensitive materials and demand a payment as a ransom.

Cybercriminals use various scam emails with different content, but share these common traits when attempting to scam and extort money.

• Email subject line contains the victim's real name, phone number, or an old password.

• Spoof recipient's email addresses - scam emails coming from the recipient's own account

• Claiming to have hacked the user's device and installed malware to access their webcam and film the user while the websites are visited.

• Threatening to release the video of a user to his/her contacts unless the victim pays a specific bitcoin amount.

The scammers behind extortion attempts are using lists of usernames, passwords, and other personal details that may have been compromised and collected in one of the numerous data leaks that have occurred to major online services.

No, it does not. While it is possible for a cybercriminal to obtain your password by compromising your device (this is why a good antivirus protection is so important!), a cybercriminal may also obtain one of your passwords from a breach of a third-party website or online service where you used that password.

• Do not respond or send any payments to the scammer.

• Change your passwords immediately. This goes for email and all accounts, including bank accounts and PIN numbers. Create strong, complicated, new passwords that feature a confusing slew of numbers and symbols.

• Run a Full System Scan for viruses and unknown threats on your computer.

• (US customers only) Find out if your personal information has been compromised.

  LifeLock offers a free breach detection tool which you can use to find out if your personal information has been compromised. You may access it here: https://www.lifelock.com/breach-detection. Norton LifeLock also offers tools to help to monitor¹ and protect your personal information.

Falling for an email scam is something that can happen to anyone. It's a frightening concept and one that frequently results in undiluted panic.

Follow the instructions that are mentioned in this link: https://us.norton.com/internetsecurity-online-scams-what-to-do-when-you-fall-for-an-email-scam.html

If you have any questions, call 1-877- 788-4877 to contact Norton Support.