Phishing Attack Emails are Scary

Here is the latest phishing attack, one of our clients received an email, and not long after that, a number of others clients received a similar email.  Here is what the original email looked like:

Layout of Email

Most of the emails have the same basic premise:

• A lie about some incriminating video
• Your email account with a password – this is often your facebook password or some variation of it
• Then a way to pay off the individual threating you

Possible Source

After looking at a number of these threatening emails and talking with the recipients we are fairly certain that these emails are a result of a password list being sold from the Facebook data breach. Then people who grabbed this list are using it to try to threaten people in order to gain some money.

The bitcoin they are requesting is an untraceable currency so they are then able to walk away with no trace to them. So, if someone is ever asking for Bitcoin, then you are probably in a nefarious situation and should use extreme caution.

Steps to Protect Yourself

If you happen to find one of these emails in your inbox, then you need to take a deep breath and realize that you are probably being scammed. However, it also prudent to realize that an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. So here are a few steps to help in ensuring that you are safe:

• Run a full scan of your Anti-Virus and Anti-Malware software
• Change all your passwords (Banks, Email, Social Media, Entertainment, etc)
  • Make sure you use separate passwords for all your accounts
  • Use a program to keep your passwords organized and secure. We recommend LastPass.

Please share with your friends on Social Media so they can also be aware of these emails.