MY phone pings and an email lands in my inbox. As I open it, my heart starts racing and my hands are shaking: I’m being blackmailed.
“Your system has been hacked with a trojan virus,” the email says. “It has penetrated your device through adult portals which you sometimes visit.
Deputy consumer editor Lucy Andrews was targeted as part of a sextortion scam – here’s how she spotted it was all fake[/caption]
Make sure to set your privacy settings high on your social media and messaging platforms to block scammers from contacting you[/caption]
“I’ve already made a screen recording.
“A video was edited with a pornographic movie that you were watching at that time and masturbating.”
I had no idea I was being targeted by a fraudster as part of a sextortion scam.
This is when criminals threaten to share sexual pictures or videos of you unless you pay them money.
It’s a terrifying experience, and worryingly, these scams are on the rise.
Action Fraud released an urgent warning to the public in March about this fraud, when it received over 2,924 reports – a huge increase from 133 reports just the month before.
‘Complete control’ over my phone
I got the email on a Sunday evening last September. I didn’t recognise the email address, and had never spoken to the sender.
The scammer told me that they had “complete control” over my device, and all my personal information had been copied.
They told me that they could send the compromising video of me to my email contacts, and through my social media channels.
I was told that all I needed to do to make the problem go away, and for no one to bother me again, was to send $1,400 (£1,035) to a Bitcoin wallet.
I was given two days to send the money over – or all of my data and videos would become publicly available.
I was told that going to the police was useless, as their email and Bitcoin wallet could not be tracked.
Changing my passwords would be useless, because the data was already saved on their server.
“The timer starts immediately,” the email read.
“Everyone will learn about your passion for the porn sites and more.
“Don’t forget that reputation is very important and be prudent!”
How I spotted the red flags
Terrified of any compromising images of me being leaked for everyone to see, I nearly handed over the money.
But luckily I didn’t – as I managed to spot a few red flags in the email that were suspicious.
Despite the scammer claiming to know so much sensitive information about me, they never addressed me by name in the email.
I thought this was weird, and reminded me of the “spray and pray” tactics scammers may use when targeting victims.
This is where a fraudster will email the same generic message out to many people, in the hope that someone will fall for it.
The email was trying to force me to act quickly and send over money.
This is a classic pressure tactic that scammers use to bully you into handing over cash.
The scammer said that malicious software had been installed on my device.
The tell-tale signs of this happening are that apps on your phone keep crashing, strange pop-ups appear, and the battery life shrinks.
But my phone was running normally – so I started to doubt if the threats were true.
I also went on the National Cyber Security Centre’s website to read more about sextortion scams, and discovered that fraudsters will often ask to be paid in Bitcoin – like my scammer.
And besides, I don’t watch these sorts of videos – so why had the scammer said I accessed porn sites?
I ignored the email and blocked the email address – but what I should have done in hindsight was report it to the police.
If you are not in immediate danger, you can contact your local force by calling 101 to report the scam.
I also should have forwarded the email to report@phishing.gov.uk so the incident could be logged at the National Cyber Security Centre.
At the time, I was just relieved that I wasn’t being scammed.
How to protect yourself against sextortion scams
SEXTORTION scams can be scary – but there are ways to protect yourself against losing your money.
Richard Daniels, director of fraud at TSB, has shared his tips on the best way to protect yourself.
He said: “Lucy’s case shows the panic and emotional impact that criminals can cause by using these cruel threats.
“If you ever receive a demand for payment, stop all contact, even if threats continue.
“Block the individual on all platforms and don’t pay – as payment can simply lead to further demands for money.
“If you have sent money or images to a criminal, then report this to the police and your bank – and remember, support comes with no judgement, sextortion is a crime.
“Notify the app or platform where the fraud occured.
“Keep evidence, don’t delete – this helps the police to investigate your case.
“Make sure to set your privacy settings to the highest level on your social media and messaging accounts.
“This is so people can’t contact you or collect personal information about you – it’s surprising how much we share on our accounts.”
