Webcam Blackmail Scam

Don’t fall victim to Webcam Blackmail Scams

An attempted Webcam Blackmail Scam is taking the Internet by storm, our clients have been reporting scam messages from individuals claiming to have intercepted their username and password.

These messages often state they have been watching your screen activity and webcam while you have been unaware.

Typically, attackers threaten to broadcast footage to your contacts, colleagues, or social media channels.

Demanding payment in Bitcoin and malicious hackers use a webcam blackmail scam to take advantage of their victims to keep confidential information private.

Where have the Attacks come from, is the threat real?

In many cases where hackers have claimed to have a victims’ password, this has turned out to be true either past or present.

In the last few years alone, many large websites have suffered enormous hacks which have released confidential details on many of their users.

LinkedIn, Yahoo, and MyFitnessPal all suffered massive and devastating hacks. Some users of these services are still feeling the consequences today.

The details leaked from these sites, and others facing the same issues, are sold online for years after the initial breach.

Hackers buy username and password combinations in the hopes of reusing them to access services, steal money, or blackmail their owners.

How should I respond?

If you have been contacted by one of these hackers attempting a Webcam Blackmail Scam, it is a scary reality that they could have access to your credentials, data, and online services.

The only thing you can do in response to this type of Email is to ignore it. The chance of you being recorded is slim to none, it is a scam.

Email is a scam made much more believable because they probably do have one of your real passwords gained from a site hack.

We STRONGLY advise for you to check if any of your passwords appear on the Password Breach Lists, it is always better to be safe than sorry.

That said, accounts that share the same password should be changed immediately. Security on additional Services you use should be updated too.

Self Defence On the Web

When using online services, a unique password for every site is your number one defence.

A good password manager makes this practical and straightforward too.

Using a different password for each site you use means that hackers can only gain access to one site at a time.

A hack in one place should never compromise your other accounts by revealing the single password you use everywhere.

Often, people think that maintaining many passwords is hard work or even impossible to do. In truth,

it’s almost always easier to keep tabs with a password manager than it is to use the system you have in place today.

High-quality and secure password managers such as Safe in Cloud, or LastPass, can keep track of all your logins efficiently and securely.

They often offer the chance to improve your security by generating random and strong passwords that hackers will have a tougher time cracking.

Password Management services offer a host of features that help you log in, remind you to refresh your security, and make your safety a number one priority.

After using a manager for just a short time, you can be forgiven for wondering how you managed without it.