"Hello Pervert" scams are turning up the heat 🔥

cypac1
Jun 27
3 min read

Happy Friday

Before we get into this week's topic, please allow me to express my gratitude for you taking time out of your busy Friday morning to read and share these emails. It's a privilege to share the digital threats to our islands in a way that's positive, informative and applicable to you and those you may work, live, and socialize with. The team and I here really try, so please keep Cypac in mind if you have any IT security questions or problems we can help you solve.

Now to the good stuff! Every so often I am asked about these emails, usually accompanied by a snicker. They're called sextortion emails and they've had many facelifts over the years, but they usually start with something like: “Hello, pervert.”

It's likely that you've received one yourself. After all, they wouldn't keep sending them if they didn't work! The emails claim that they hacked your computer and have been recording you through your webcam, while watching porn, doing things that you would rather keep private.

To stop them from sending the incriminating footage to everyone you've ever emailed, ya gotta pay. Their tone is threatening, manipulative, and designed to provoke fear and urgency. Well, just as the cost of food, travel, and... well, living has gone up, so has the amount of money they're asking for. We're seeing them demanding around $1,700 compared to around $300 just a couple of years ago.

The Takeaway

These emails are pretty easy to spot as scams once you know what to look for:

It was sent from your own email address. This used to be pretty easy to spoof, but email providers have gotten better at blocking this kind of bafoonery. The scammer is trying to convince you they're already inside your account.
They often include one of your passwords. The scammer might say they know your password and may even offer one as “proof.” That password was likely stolen in a separate data breach and has nothing to do with the sextortion email itself. Leaked passwords are a dime a dozen on the Dark Web.
Short time to respond. You’re threatened to pay quickly or the so-called footage will be sent to all your contacts. Often you’re only given a day to act. As we know, scammers almost always create a false sense of urgency. That’s your big red flag.

First,never reply to emails of this kind. Responding may confirm to the sender that someone is reading the inbox, which means you’ll probably get hit with more scam attempts. Don’t let yourself get rushed into action or decisions. Scammers count on you reacting emotionally instead of logically.

Next, if the email includes a password, make sure you’re not using it anymore. If you are, change it as soon as possible. Even better, check out HaveIBeenPwned.com to see where your data may have been leaked from.

The bottom line? Fear-based scams like this only work if we don’t talk about them. So talk about them. Share this with coworkers, friends, family, anyone who uses email. You’d be surprised how many people still fall for this stuff.

Stay safe out there.

-Attila

The Positivity Box

This week was the 3rd Annual Hawaii Cybersecurity Conference, organized by CyberHawaii to help spread awareness and encourage collaboration between federal, state, and private sector network defenders.

I especially enjoyed the presentations from MITRE on network defense strategies, the FBI on how they’re using AI to process massive volumes of video footage, and hearing from local companies about the steps they’ve taken to protect customer data and build more resilient operations against cyber attacks.

Big thanks to Al from CyberHawaii for putting on this event!

New Friday Funnies!