'Access Established' Extortion Phishing Scam from Hacker Demanding Bitcoin Payment or Release of Compromising Video

If a hacker claims to have taken over your email account, what do you do? Read the following email, which claims to be from the email address sent back to the sender, and is thus found by the owner of the email account. It appears to be a type of "sextortion scam." The email claims that he will release a compromising video if the victim does not send a Bitcoin payment.

Email Phishing Scam

Sextortion Phishing Email Sent to the Same Email Address

Disclaimer: As a reminder, the following email was actually received by someone and is posted here for informational purposes only. Do not ever try to interact with anyone who sends an email like that seen below. Report it or delete it.

The email begins here:

"Hi, Access established.

Therе arе ѕome bɑd ոеԝѕ that you ɑre аbоut tо hеar.

ᗅbout fеw ᴡeеkѕ аgo І have ɡɑineԁ a full aϲceѕs tо ɑll ԁеѵiceѕ uѕеd by ẏou fоr iոternеt broẇѕіոg.

Shоrtlу aftеr, І ѕtаrteԁ rеcоrԁіnԍ аll intеrnеt activіtiеs doոe by уou.

Веlow іs the ѕequenсe of evеոts оf how that hɑрреոed:

Еarlier I рurϲhaseԁ frоm hɑckers а uոiquе accеѕs tо ԁiνerѕifiеԁ емaіl accоuոts (at thе mомеոt, it іs reаlly eаѕy to ԁo uѕіng intеrոet).

Аs ẏou caո see, I mɑnаԍеd tо log іո tо ẏour eмɑil ɑcсоuոt without breɑkіոg a sԝеat (email account removed for privacy reasons).

Ẃithіո one week ɑfterẇardѕ, I iոѕtalled а Trоjan νiruѕ iո your Օреratіոɡ Syѕtемs availɑblе on ɑll ԁevicеs that уou utіliᴢе fоr loԍԍiոɡ in your емaіl.

Tо be frank, іt waѕ ѕomеᴡhаt а ѵеrẏ еɑѕẏ taѕƙ (ѕinсе yоu wеre kiոԁ еnоuɡh tо оpеn ѕoмe оf links рrоνіdеԁ іn ẏour inbоẋ еmailѕ).

Ẃіth hеlp of thаt uѕeful ѕоftware, I ам now able tо gaiո аϲcesѕ tо аll thе соntrollеrѕ loϲateԁ iո your ԁеvісeѕ (e.g., cam, keybrd, mіc&othrѕ).

ᗅs rеsult, маոɑged to ԁоwոlоɑԁ all yоur рhotos, persоnal dɑtа, hіѕtоry of ẇеb broԝѕiոg anԁ оther iոfо to mу ѕеrvеrѕ withоut aոy рrobleмs.

Morеoνеr, І now haѵe ɑϲϲess to ɑll aсcоuոtѕ іn ẏour mеssenԍеrѕ, ѕоcіɑl ոеtԝorκѕ, емаils, cоոtaсts lіѕt, ϲhаt hiѕtory - уоu nɑme іt.

Му Trojan vіruѕ сoոtіոuеs rеfrеshing іts ѕіԍոɑturеs іո ɑ nоn-ѕtоp mаոnеr (bеϲɑuѕе іt is oреrаtеd bẏ driѵеr), hеոϲе іt remаiոѕ unԁеtеϲtеd bу аոy ɑntiνirus ѕoftware іոstаlled in уour dеѵісе.

I ԍuеss now ẏоu fіոally uոdеrѕtand the rеaѕoո whẏ І сould neνer bе cаuɡht uոtіl thiѕ eмail.

Durіnɡ the рrоϲеsѕ оf yоur рerѕоnаl iոfo comріlаtіoո,

I ϲоuld nоt hеlp but ոоtіcе thаt you аre a huge admirеr aոԁ rеgular guest оf webѕitеѕ wіth аԁult ϲоntent.

Yоu еոԁure а lot of plеɑѕure whilе сheckiոԍ out pоrn ẇеbѕitеѕ, watсhing ոaѕty рorn мovіes aոԁ reaϲhinɡ brеathtɑκіոg оrԍаsмѕ.

Ḻеt мe be frаnk with you, іt waѕ rеallу hard tо rеsiѕt from recordiոɡ ѕоmе of thosе nɑughty sоlо ѕcenеs ẇіth уоu іn maiո rоle аnԁ coмріlіոɡ thем іո ѕресіal vidеоѕ thɑt еxрoѕе уоur мɑѕturbatіоո ѕеssіоnѕ, ᴡhіch еnd with ẏou cummiոg.

Іn саse іf you stіll hɑve ԁоubts, аll І ոееd iѕ tо clіck мy мouse aոd all thоѕе naѕty vіԁeos with yоu ẇіll bе sharеԁ tо frіeոԁѕ, colleɑgues, aոd relɑtіѵes of yоurѕ.

Моrеoѵer, nothing ѕtорѕ me from uрloɑdiոɡ аll that hot coոtеnt oոlіne, so all рubliϲ can wɑtch it tоо.

І ѕincerely hopе, you wоuld rеally not prеfеr that tо hapрeո, κeepinԍ іn мiոԁ all thе ԁіrtẏ thinԍѕ уou lіκe to watсh, (yоu certаiոlу κոow what І mеaո) іt ẇill comрlеtelẏ ruіո your reрutɑtіоn.

Ноԝevеr, dоո't ԝоrry, there iѕ ѕtіll a way to rеsolvе thiѕ:

>> Үou neеd tо cаrrẏ оut a 1660 (ŬS dоllarѕ) traոsfer tо mẏ aϲcоunt (eԛuiv. ɑmouոt іn bіtcoiոѕ depеոԁiոԍ оո exϲhanɡe ratе at thе momеnt оf fuոԁs trɑոѕfer),

hеnϲe upon rеceiνiոg thе traոѕaϲtіоո, І will prоϲеeԁ with dеlеtinԍ ɑll thе fіlthу ѵideоѕ ᴡіth уоu іո мaіո rolе.

Aftеrẇarԁs, wе сɑn fоrɡеt abоut thіs unрleаѕаnt aϲсidеոt.

Furtherмorе, I ɡuaraոtеe that all the мɑlісіouѕ ѕoftwɑre will alsо be erasеԁ froм уour ԁеvicеs aոd ɑϲcоunts. Мarκ мẏ ԝorԁѕ, I nеvеr liе.

Thаt іѕ a ԍreat bargɑіո ԝith ɑ lоẇ prіcе,

I aѕsurе уou, bеcаuse I hаνе ѕpent a lоt оf effort ԝhіle reсordinɡ aոd tracκіnԍ dоwn all уоur actіνіtіеѕ аոd dіrty deеds durinԍ а lоոԍ рeriоԁ of time.

In сase if ẏou hаνе ոо iԁea hоw tо buy аnd traոѕfer bitcoіnѕ - fеel freе tо chеϲƙ the related іnfo оn the іոterոet.

Hеrе iѕ my btc accouոt for yоur refеreոϲe (delete ѕрɑceѕ befоre use):

1My1 9bM iRYkm 5Hxgr jN48T R1SvV Qq1CLs6

>> From ոоw оn, уou haѵe only 50 hоurs aոԁ ϲouոtԁoᴡn hɑѕ stɑrted оnce you opеոеԁ thіѕ е-maіl.

Тhe fоllоwіng list cоոtɑіոѕ thinԍs you should dеfіnitelу abѕtаіո frом doinԍ or еѵen attemрtiոɡ:

>> Abstɑіո frом trуіոg tо rерlẏ this еmaіl (ѕincе thе емail іs ԍeոerаtеd іոsіdе yоur inbоx аlоngsіԁе with rеturո aԁԁress).

>> Abѕtaiո from tryiոɡ to cаll оr reроrt tо police or аոу оther ѕеcurіtẏ ѕеrvіces.

Iո ɑԁԁіtіon, it'ѕ a baԁ іdеа іf you ẇaոt tо shɑrе іt ᴡith yоur friеոԁs, hоpіnԍ thеу ԝould hеlp.

If I haрpеո to find оut (ƙոoᴡinԍ mу аweѕоme skіlls, it caո bе dоոе еffortlеѕsly, bеϲauѕе I havе аll your ԁеvісеѕ аոd ɑсcоuոtѕ unԁеr mу соոtrоl anԁ uոсeaѕіng obsеrvatiоn)

kinκy vіdeos of yоurѕ will be shаrе tо publіϲ thе sɑме ԁɑy.

>> Аbѕtаin frом trуinɡ to loоƙ fоr me, thɑt ẇоuld not leɑԁ anywherе еithеr.

Сrуptocurreոcy trаոsactіoոs ɑre absolutеlу ɑոonyмоuѕ аոd caոnot bе trаϲκеԁ.

>> Abѕtaіn froм rеiոѕtɑllіng ẏоur OᏚ oո dеνiϲеs or thrоẇiոg theм аwaу.

Тhɑt wоulԁ ոot ѕolve thе problем аs ẇell, sinсе ɑll your pеrsoոɑl vіdеos are аlrеaԁy uplоaded ɑոԁ storeԁ аt rемotе ѕervеrѕ.

Thіngs you маy bе cоnfusеԁ аbоut:

>> Тhat ẏour fuոԁѕ trаnsfer ԝoո't be delіѵеrеd to мe.

Chіll, І cɑո traϲk ԁоᴡn any traոѕaϲtionѕ right awaу, ѕо upоո fuոԁs traոѕfеr I ԝill rесeіvе ɑ ոotіfісɑtiоո as ᴡеll,

sіnсe I ѕtіll ϲоntrоl your dеvіϲеѕ (мy troʝaո vіruѕ hаѕ аbіlіtу оf ϲoոtrоllinԍ all рrocessеs remotely).

>> That І aм gоiոg to ѕharе ẏоur ԁirty vidеoѕ aftеr recеiѵіոɡ мoney transfеr froм уou.

Неrе you ոeеd to trust ме, bеcausе thеre is аbsolutеly ոо рoіnt tо still bоther ẏou after rеcеіѵіnԍ моnеy.

Мoreоvеr, if I rеallу waոtеԁ all thоsе vіdеos wоulԁ be ɑѵɑіlɑble tо public lоոɡ tімe ago.

І belіevе ẇе ϲaո stіll hаոdle thiѕ situаtіoո on fаіr terмs.

Oh, аոd bу thе ẇaẏ. Wіре off the ԁuѕt you hɑνe everẏwhеre."

Tips if you Receive a Sextortion Phishing Email

If you receive an email similar to that above, be careful.

In the situation above, the only identifying piece of information is the Bitcoin address provided, which is:

1My19bMiRYkm5HxgrjN48TR1SvVQq1CLs6

• Never send money or Bitcoin to anyone like this. They are clearly bluffing.
• Change your email password.
• Report the email if possible.

California Woman Wires Her $720K Life Savings to a Scammer. She is Now Suing Chase Bank

An 80-year-old woman is suing Chase Bank after she fell for a crypto investment scam known as "pig butchering" that took over $720,000 of her life savings, and left her "struggling to pay her bills."

Chase bank (stock photo)Photo byMike Mozart; CC BY 2.0 DEED

A Taiwanese immigrant and senior citizen with a disabled adult son had no idea she was being scammed, but this is how many "pig butchering" scams go.

A scammer gains the trust of an unsuspecting person and convinces them to send money or invest money in a scheme, and it ends with the victim losing all of their money.

This is what happened to one California woman who is now desperately suing Chase bank after losing over $720K to a scammer.

Los Angeles Woman Trusts Scammer and Loses Life Savings

KCAL-TV News reported that 80-year-old Alice Lin in Los Angeles thought that a man she met on WeChat would help her make money with cryptocurrency investing in a trading app. She didn't know the man and met him when he messaged her for the first time.

He gained her trust through an online friendship that started on WeChat.

He then convinced her to download a "trading app" and he convinced her to send her money, but she didn't realize it was not a real investing app.

She said:

“Then I was thinking, I can help my son, who is on disability. So, I thought, that would be good. That I can, you know, make a little bit of money.” -Alice Lin, Chase bank customer

Alice Lin, 80Photo byKCAL-TV News

Then over several weeks, he convinced her to wire over $720,000 to him. She went to her local Chase bank branches to wire "hundreds of thousands of dollars" over several days in August, and the total amount came to $721,500.

After he received the money, all communication from the scammer stopped.

It was a scam, and the returns on her money were too good to be true.

She said:

“He gave me the instructions and where to send the money to. So for me to go to the bank, to wire the money, and at that time, I totally trust him, so I just follow him.” -Alice Lin, Chase bank customer

CBS 4 News Miami reported that Lin was extremely depressed after she lost $720K, to the point that she felt suicidal.

With very little left in her bank account, she is now "trying to find comfort in the simple things in life," because the pig butchering scam stole her life savings.

Alice Lin is Suing Chase Bank After Losing $720K in Scam

Now, she holds Chase Bank at fault for allowing her to send her money to a scammer.

"Only if they had done a little something to protect elders like me from being scammed, I wouldn't be where I am now an 80-year-old widow left to pick up the pieces of my life." -Alice Lin, Chase bank customer

On Monday, 26 February 2024 Lin's attorney Anne Marie Murphy filed a complaint in the Los Angeles Superior Court, citing "red flags that Chase bank knew Ms. Lin was being scammed or definitely should have known."

Sources

Lopez, Lolita. "Grandmother loses life savings and sues bank." NBC 4 News. Updated 26 February 2024.

Sabir, Nadirah. "Woman, 80, loses $720,000 in savings due to crypto scam 'at my age, I do not have a second chance'." CBS 4 Miami. 6 March 2024.

Colorado Woman Sees Error on Computer Telling Her the Computer was Hacked. She Calls Number and Loses $37K

A woman from Westminster is alerted by warning messages on her computer that "her IP address has been hacked." It tells her to call a number and she is greeted by a person claiming to be from "Microsoft headquarters," who conspires to steal $37K from her in an "imposter scam."

photo credit: Microsoft logo (stock photo)Photo byMike Mozart; CC BY 2.0 DEED

According to the FTC data on the Consumer Sentinel Network, Americans lost more than $2.7 billion in "imposter scams" in 2023. These are scams where an unsuspecting person is duped by a scammer posing as an official or representative of a company.

A Colorado woman shared her recent experience with a scammer to try and warn others before it's too late.

Westminster Colorado Woman Believes 'Imposter Scammer'

KUSA 9News reported on Thursday that Diana Peltier from Westminster, Colorado received a troubling message on her computer, warning her that her "IP address had been hacked." The warning alert provided a phone number for her to call and looked very similar to the image on the screen below.

photo credit: Windows messagePhoto byKUSA 9News

She trusted the information on the screen and called the phone number where she was greeted by a man claiming to be from Microsoft headquarters, who sounded "calm and assuring," who told her "they were going to take care of her. They are going to be certain that I'm going to be OK."

The scammer told her to click on a link, which downloaded remote software onto her computer, which allowed him to take "complete control" over her computer.

That's when he told Peltier that he could "see her accounts were being hacked." He then offered to connect her to her bank's fraud department.

Peltier Was Transferred to 'Bank Fraud Department'

Peltier was transferred to a woman named "Allison with US Bank" who was soft-spoken and calming her down, telling her to "breathe," while continuing to emphasize her accounts were hacked.

Peltier was then instructed to go to her bank and withdraw her money from her "hacked" bank account and to deposit it into a "safe place" and the safest nearby place to deposit her money was the nearest Bitcoin ATM at a liquor store.

That's where Peltier deposited the $37,000 she removed from her bank account, just as she had been coached to do by scammers.

photo credit: Diana PeltierPhoto byKUSA 9News

She said:

"Within four hours, it was all over with. It was all gone." -Diane Peltier, Colorado scam victim

In hindsight she regrets it.

She said:

"I should have hung up with everybody. I should have unplugged the computer. I wasn't thinking right. I wasn't thinking right. I wasn't thinking clearly." -Diane Peltier, Colorado scam victim

Now, it is unlikely Peltier will ever see her money lost in this scam.

Always remember: Banks and officials will never ask for payment in gift cards or cryptocurrency.

Help protect friends and family by liking and sharing this article with others so they can be informed about this type of scam.

Sources

Federal Trade Commission: Consumer Sentinel Network.

Iacurci, Greg. "How to avoid the top scam of 2023: The internet has ‘really supercharged’ it, expert says." CNBC. 15 February 2024.

Staegar, Steve and Anna Hewson. "Colorado woman loses $37,000 in phantom hacker scam." KUSA 9News. 7 March 2024.

Tesla Bought $1.5 Billion Bitcoin: What Does this Mean for Investors?

 

Tesla bought $1.5 billion Bitcoin

Elon Musk is a man that speaks his mind on Twitter often, and when the internet is not reading your tweets, it is watching everyday people do crazy things on TikTok. So when the richest man in the world tweets about Bitcoin and Dogecoin, oftentimes, the price of these cryptocurrencies then see a noticeable jump as a direct result of his comments he posts on Twitter.

Elon Musk even went “all in” adding the hashtag #bitcoin to his Twitter biography, and CNBC’s Steve Kovach notes that this move resulted in the jump of bitcoin by 20%. Not only that, Elon Musk then said on the social media site Clubhouse: “I do at this point think bitcoin is a good thing, and I am a supporter of bitcoin.”

Elon Musk Quote:

“I do at this point think bitcoin is a good thing, and I am a supporter of bitcoin.” Elon Musk said on social media, Clubhouse (December 2020)

Tesla Buying $1.5 Billion Bitcoin is a GameChanger for Crypto

So what happens with a white-hot company like Tesla makes a major investment into bitcoin?

The internet explodes. Figuratively, of course, and the price of bitcoin soars to a new all-time high of $44,200.00 USD (for one bitcoin) in February 2021.

This significant event happened on Monday, February 08, 2021 and was very significant for bitcoin. Tesla announced in an SEC filing that it had purchased $1.5 billion in bitcoin, and it would also begin accepting bitcoin as a form of payment for their products “subject to applicable laws and initially on a limited basis.” In other words, it is a short-term gimmick to keep Tesla riding a wave of relevancy. But I do give them much credit, because Tesla spends $0 on a marketing budget, yet stays in the news almost every single day.

Investor Michael Burry is not buying the smoke and mirrors. He claims that Tesla buying $1.5 billion into bitcoin is just a distraction so that consumers don’t pay attention to recent regulatory issues Tesla is facing in China stemming from quality issues found in the electric cars (Business Insider India).

It is very possible that Tesla is trying to distract the general public from legitimate issues, but let’s continue with the ruse for a minute.

How much of their cash did Tesla invest into bitcoin?

Steve Kovach of CNBC points out that Tesla had more than $19 billion in cash and cash equivalents at the end of 2020, according to public records. Now that Tesla has officially made a significant investment into Bitcoin, the term “double bubble” has come to fruition. (Editor’s Note: I did not come up with this term, but I like it.)

Michael Burry Quote:

“Chinese regulators summon Tesla on quality issues as consumers complain about quality…but $TSLA bought $BTC….In my mind’s eye, so much #digital confetti.” -Michael Burry in since-deleted tweets originally posted on Monday, February 08, 2021

Tesla is Primed to be a Double Bubble for Investors

Double bubble

Why a double bubble?

Because many analysts have long believed that Tesla is significantly overvalued for many reasons, and the exorbitant stock price does not accurately reflect its true value. Not only does the price of Tesla stock continue to increase, but it also recently split five-for-one in August 2020, and continues to increase in price since the split.

Think back to the days of the video arcade, when you would take your dollars or quarters to the coin machine and would feed your real money to this mechanical beast that would give you tokens, with a real-world value of less than $0.01. That’s a pretty good investment, right? Let’s trade real currency with real value for a fake currency with no value, but in order to play video games, this is the cost of fun.

In a less tangible way, there are no real coins with bitcoin. It’s not real, people! It’s more of an investment vehicle, or some may even think of it as a bank account that is subject to the risk of the masses.

Bitcoin is only worth what everyone collectively thinks it's worth. So, just like the stock market, you could find yourself buying in when it is high (i.e. right now), or you could have been one of those lucky early adopters that believed in that “new-fangled” cryptocurrency many years ago. And despite it being around for most of the past decade, it still (i.e. today) has that new car smell. A Tesla smell, actually. Pun intended.

Question: So what’s up with Tesla? Is it still operating on unicorn tears?

Answer: Pretty much…and some credits, too.

In addition to the confusion behind Tesla’s inflated stock price, a perfect happening of events in 2019–2020 made it possible for Tesla to meet the qualifications to join the S&P 500, due to their reporting four consecutive quarters of GAAP profitability. Many skeptics say this was only made possible due to zero-emission vehicle (ZEV) credits and other environmental credits given to Tesla. It is public knowledge that Tesla sold approximately $594 million in regulatory environmental credits in 2019 and $419 million in 2018.

What’s even more baffling is that people are willing to pay a premium price for an “average” electric car (i.e. Tesla’s current vehicles). I do get that this is a movement. I get it. We are now seeing the car industry shift from gasoline combustion vehicles to more automakers making big moves into electric vehicles.

In the age of the now-famous “stock advising” WallStreetBets forum on Reddit, and the phenomenon of Robinhood investing, just about everyone has access to buy into companies like Tesla. And now when you buy Tesla, you are also buying into bitcoin, whether you like this idea or not. So, if you want to ride the double bubble, this choice is now entirely up to you.

Do you believe that Elon Musk is a visionary and is worth investing in?

Do you think that Elon Musk should be investing Tesla cash into Bitcoin?

Elon Musk Quotes of Caution about Cryptocurrency:

“People should not invest their life savings in cryptocurrency, to be clear -- that's unwise."

"There's a good chance that crypto is the future currency of Earth, and it's like which one's it going to be? Maybe it'll be multiple. It should be considered speculation at this point. So don't go too far with the crypto speculation front."

Investor Takeaway:

Everyday retail investors should be cautious before making any investment and should do their due diligence and research before buying cryptocurrencies or securities. Speak with a trusted financial advisor before investing your money into any stock. A good financial advisor will not advise you to put all of your investment money into one stock. 

Sources:

Chakravarti, Ankita. "Bitcoin less dumb form of liquidity than cash, says Tesla CEO Elon Musk." IndiaToday. 

Kolodny, Lora. “Tesla’s sale of environmental credits help drive to profitability.” CNBC.

Kovach, Steve. “Tesla buys $1.5 billion in bitcoin, plans to accept it as payment.” CNBC.

Maidenberg, Micah. “On Twitter, Elon Musk Has Mused About Bitcoin.” The Wall Street Journal.

Mohamed, Theron. “‘Big Short’ investor Michael Burry calls Tesla’s billion bet on Bitcoin a distraction — and says Dogecoin’s record price signals a massive bubble.” Business Insider India.

Pure Bit Cryptocurrency Exit Scam: They Disappeared with Investor Money

Pure coin logo

The latest scam in the Cryptocurrency industry: Pure coin. Pure coin performed an exit scam on those that invested into it. All traces of Pure coin are now gone. They were operating at the website https://purealt.org/index.html - it now just says "Error." What they did was empty out all of the cryptocurrency wallets and disappeared after pretending to be a legitimate new alternative cryptocurrency.

While operating this scam, Pure said this about their cryptocurrency: "PURE is a new cryptocurrency that aims to purify the blockchain, with fresh ideas and clear vision toward a fair and truly decentralized usage and better tomorrow."

According to this Tech Crunch article, this was a South Korean exchange that had raised $2.8 million in Ethereum from investors before completely disappearing. Also, "the process of building and pumping exchange tokens is a popular trend in Korea."

With no mention of who was the team behind the project, there was no public way of knowing who the contributors were. According to Dmitry on Medium.com, Pure promised to deliver a roadmap and whitepaper for over a month. When Dmitry asked on the public forum "So where can I get a list of the developers/founders/creators of PURE?" his question was deleted by the moderator "Pure Dev". This was a dead giveaway to Dmitry that this was a potential scam.

This is yet another lesson why not to invest your money into schemes that look risky.