Ashley Madison Blackmail: How It Works
A couple of years ago, over 37 million names were leaked as being registered on the adultery website Ashley Madison. The platform is still operating succesfully, marketing itself as a 'social networking service'.
There is an email going around sent in bulk by cyber crooks these days, reaching out to billions of inboxes. The crooks use automated software that sends the message via major online media outlets through the 'Share' button.
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For example, we received such a blackmailing email on our scam-detector email address via the Yahoo sharing option. The message reads as follows:
"Rivkah Haber shared this with you
You are EXPOSED!
Hey! I would like to tell you that Ashley Madison was recently hacked, and now I have all the information about your online affairs and even the cheatings you did 😉 I have located all your social networking and dating website profiles, and using this I am going to send message to all of your friends and family members about this.
Well, for sure, you would feel ashamed if I tell your family members and friends about this, and it would be even more worse, when you meet them face to face. Wondering how to prevent me from doing this? Its simple, you need to send just 2 Bitcoin (i.e Two BTC) to the following Bitcoin address: [scammer's address]".
The message continues:
"You may be wondering why should you and what will prevent other people from doing the same, in short you can now delete your social and dating accounts. So go ahead and give it a try. Do you think, you can get away so easily? I have already saved a copy of your profiles, pics, chat logs, and even the contact details of your relatives and friends. To send a Bitcoin, you can use sites like CoinBase.
If I do not receive the Bitcoin in the next 48 hours, I am going to contact all of your friends and relatives and post your profiles, pics, etc all ONLINE. Oh! I didnt tell you, that I know where you live and hangout, did I? Just think if you are in committed relationship how this will affect your social standing amongst your friends, family members and others. Your countdown is started.
Good Luck!"
This text is followed by a Yahoo link, which the recipient is supposed to click on. Since this message is sent automatically to billions of email addresses, chances are it might catch a former Ashley Madison member who might believe is in danger and pay the blackmail.
Ashley Madison Blackmail: How To Avoid
Well, if you were an Ashley Madison member, we hope your spouse forgave you already. If your name was not revealed yet, maybe it's time for a confession.
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