Hundreds of Australians have been targeted by criminals who claim they hacked their computers and accessed ‘compromising’ images and videos of them.
The scammer then threatens to release the images or videos to friends and family if they do not receive a certain amount of cryptocurrency to a certain address.
However, government organization Scamwatch said there is no evidence the scammer hacked the person’s computer or webcam.
The criminal can try to convince the person to send money by providing the recipients’ personal information, including dates of birth and home addresses, which is likely accessible through previous public data breaches.
ACCC deputy chief Catriona Lowe said Australians should always remain vigilant about scams, but “people should be especially alert to this emerging trend”.
“The fictional threats in these emails, combined with the inclusion of people’s personal details, are designed to frighten the person reading the emails,” Ms Lowe said.
“It’s extortion and it’s a crime.”
The National Anti-Scam Center is working with law enforcement and IDCARE to disrupt the scam and provide support to victims.
Scamwatch has received hundreds of reports of Australians being targeted by criminals who claim they have hacked the person’s computer. Stock image
The scammer threatens to release the images or videos to friends and family if they do not receive a certain amount of cryptocurrency to a certain address. Example of scam text
If someone has received a suspicious email, they are urged to ignore or delete it, and never give money or personal information to the scammer.
If a scammer has taken someone’s money or personal information, contact the bank or card provider immediately, report the scam and ask them to stop all transactions.
Ms Lowe urged people to be “aware that the recent volume of reports of this scam suggests it is a large-scale campaign.”
Anyone who has encountered this scam is encouraged to report it to Scamwatch.
