Authored
by
Lakshya
Mathur
and Sriram
P
McAfee
Intelligence
observed
a
huge
spike
in
extortion
email
frauds
over
the
past
month.
The
intent
of
these
fraudulent
activities
is
to
intimidate
individuals
into
paying
a
specified
amount
of
money
as
a
ransom.
Figure
1
shows
the
number
of
blackmail
emails
received
over
a
month
recently.
Figure
1
–
Stats
for 20
February 2023
–
23rd
March
2023
In
this
blog,
we’ll
delve
into
frauds
that
are
becoming
increasingly
common
in
the
digital
age.
We’ll
first
define
what
these
frauds
are
and
provide
examples
to
help
readers
better
understand
the
nature
of
these
frauds.
Additionally,
we’ll
explore
how
these
frauds
are
on
the
rise,
highlighting
the
reasons
behind
this
trend
and
the
impact
it
has
on
individuals.
Finally,
we’ll
provide
practical
advice
to
help
consumers
protect
themselves
from
these
types
of
attacks.
This
will
include
a
discussion
of
some
of
the
most
effective
measures
individuals
can
take
to
safeguard
their
personal
and
financial
information
from
fraudsters.
What
are
Extortion
Frauds?
Extortion
emails
are
a
type
of
scam
where
cybercriminals
send
threatening
messages
to
individuals
or
organizations—demanding
payment
in
exchange
for
not
releasing
sensitive
or
embarrassing
information.
These
emails
typically
claim
that
the
sender
has
compromising
information,
such
as
private
photos
or
personal
data,
and
threaten
to
share
it
with
the
recipient’s
friends,
family,
or
the
public
unless
a
payment
is
made.
The
payment
is
usually
asked
in
the
form
of
cryptocurrency,
such
as
Bitcoin
in
the
recent
spam,
which
is
difficult
to
trace
and
can
be
transferred
quickly
and
anonymously.
The
goal
of
these
emails
is
to
scare
the
recipient
into
paying
the
demanded
amount,
even
though
there
might
not
be
any
compromising
information
to
release.
Examples
of
Extortion
fraud
Scammers
use
different
scareware
sentiments
like
bad
internet
browsing
habits,
hacking
for
Wi-Fi,
and
hacking
of
networks because
of
hardware
vulnerabilities.
We’ll
now
examine
various
illustrations
of
extortion
emails
and
analyze
scammers’
strategies
to
intimidate
victims
into
providing
payment.
By
presenting
various
real-life
examples,
we
can
demonstrate
how
scammers
use
scareware
tactics
to
manipulate
and
intimidate
their
victims
into
complying
with
their
demands.
By
instilling
fear,
the
scammers
hope
to
provoke
a
sense
of
urgency
in
the
victim,
increasing
the
likelihood
that
they
will
pay
the
demanded
ransom.
Figure
2
–
Extortion
fraud
Example
1
Figure
2
is
an
illustration
of
a
typical
extortion
email
that
scammers
use
to
exploit
their
victims.
In
this
instance,
the
scammer
is
claiming
to
have
gained
unauthorized
access
to
the
victim’s
account
through
a
security
vulnerability
in
a
Cisco
router.
The
scammer
is
then
threatening
to
expose
embarrassing
information
about
the
victim
unless
a
payment
of
$1,340
is
made.
The
payment
is
demanded
through
a
Bitcoin
wallet
address
that
the
scammer
has
provided.
In
this
example,
the
scammer
has
obfuscated
the
Bitcoin
wallet
address
by
adding
spaces
between
the
characters,
which
is
a
tactic
used
to
make
it
harder
to
track
the
payment. Now,
let
us
examine
another
instance
of
extortion
emails.
Figure
3
–
Extortion
fraud
example
2
Figure
3
is
another
example
of
an
extortion
email
that
scammers
use
to
trick
and
manipulate
their
victims.
In
this
case,
the
attacker
is
claiming
to
have
gained
unauthorized
access
to
the
victim’s
accounts
and
has
deployed
trojans
and
viruses
on
the
victim’s
system.
The
scammer
is
also
blackmailing
the
victim
by
alleging
that
they
have
explicit
adult
content
about
the
victim
and
the
victim’s
web
browsing
history.
The
purpose
of
this
is
to
instill
fear
and
provoke
a
sense
of
urgency
in
the
victim.
Like
the
previous
example,
the
scammer
has
provided
a
Bitcoin
wallet
address
for
the
victim
to
make
a
ransom
payment
of
$950.
Additionally,
the
attacker
has
explained
that
the
virus
they’ve
deployed
is
undetectable
by
antivirus
software
because
they’ve
used
drivers
that
update
the
virus
every
few
hours.
Use
of
Cryptocurrency
Cryptocurrency
tools
are
the
most
common
way
these
scammers
ask
for
a
ransom.
They
use
this
tactic
because
it
is
difficult
to
trace
and
can
be
sent
quickly
and
anonymously
to
other
platforms. We
noticed
that
scammers
were
demanding
ransom
payments
through
Bitcoin
wallets.
So,
we
tried
to
gather
statistics
on
the
number
of
unique
Bitcoin
wallets
we
came
across
in
the
past
month.
Figure
4
–
Unique
Bitcoin
Stats
for
20th
February
2023
–
23rd
March
2023
We
checked
these
Bitcoin
addresses
to
see
what
their
transactions
activities
are
and
their
reputation
on
the
blockchain
and
Bitcoin
abuse
database. Below
are
some
snapshots
of
the
transaction
of
these
addresses.
Figure
5
–
Bitcoin
received,
and
abuse
report
count
for
Bitcoin
address
As
illustrated
in
Figure
5,
it
is
clear
that
the
Bitcoin
addresses
mentioned
in
these
extortion
emails
have
numerous
abuse
reports
against
them.
Additionally,
some
ransom
payments
have
been
received
through
these
addresses. Our
intelligence
also
collected
weekly
trends
on
how
much
money
they
had
within
them.
Figure
6
–
Total
Amount
received
(US
Dollars)
in
that
week
Figure
6
shows
that
the
amount
of
money
received
in
these
Bitcoin
addresses
is
increasing
weekly.
This
implies
that
scammers
are
successfully
extorting
money
from
more
consumers.
How
to
avoid
these
frauds?
If
you
receive
extortion
emails,
follow
the
steps
outlined
below.
-
Don’t
make
any
decisions
quickly
and
don’t
panic.
If
you
panic
that
will
be
a
win
for
these
scammers. -
Mostly
the
stuff
they
scare
you
about
in
the
mail
is
always
false.
As
soon
as
you
receive
such
think
twice
before
sending
payment
emails,
to
block
them
and
delete
them. -
Try
to
search
important
keywords
on
your
search
engines,
for
example,
if
scammers
are
claiming
to
exploit
Cisco
router
vulnerabilities
search
that
vulnerability
with
keywords
like
‘BTC’,
‘hack’,
and
some
other
keywords
from
the
email,
and
you
will
find
many
results
which
will
help
you
to
understand
that
the
scammer’s
claims
are
only
false. -
Try
to
discover
more
about
the
email
you
got,
you
can
search
for
the
sender’s
address,
the
subject
of
the
mail,
or
even
certain
paragraphs
from
the
mail
on
the
internet.
You
will
surely
get
information
on
how
these
emails
are
only
scareware. -
Keep
yourself
educated
on
such
scams
so
that
you
can
protect
yourself. -
Keep
your
antivirus
updated
and
do
timely
full
scans
of
your
machines. -
Don’t
surf
on
questionable
web
pages
or
download
illegal/cracked
software.
Despite
advancements
in
technology,
extortion
frauds
continue
to
increase
as
seen
in
this
blog.
However,
the
best
defense
against
such
scams
is
to
remain
calm,
and
informed,
and
to
make
others
aware
of
such
frauds.
By
following
the
steps
mentioned
above,
such
as
not
responding
to
or
paying
any
ransom
demands,
keeping
your
system
and
software
updated,
using
strong
passwords,
and
being
wary
of
unusual
emails
or
links,
you
can
protect
yourself
from
falling
victim
to
these
frauds.
It
is
important
to
stay
vigilant
and
to
report
any
questionable
activity
to
the
appropriate
authorities.
By
taking
these
precautions,
you
can
help
prevent
yourself
and
others
from
becoming
victims
of
extortion
fraud.
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