Don’t Fall for the Latest Sextortion Email Scam

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Christine Ferguson
Christine Ferguson is the Vice President and co-owner of Ferguson Computers, Inc. in Shepherdsville, KY. She is a digital marketing expert, specializing in WordPress design & development and search engine optimization.

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Have you received an email from someone claiming to have video proof that you’ve been watching adult videos on your computer and now they’re threatening to send the video to your contact list unless you pay them?

To prove the threat is credible, the email sender may even show you a password that you currently use or have used in the past.

We have good news and bad news about this email scam

✅ Good news: The email sender does not have video of you.

❌ Bad news: The password for one or more of your online accounts has been compromised.

This is a reminder that you should not use the same password for all of your online accounts and you should also take care to rotate your account passwords often.

The person who sent the email most likely has a database of compromised logins and is sending mass emails to try to scare people into paying a ransom.

They know that many people use the same password for all of their online accounts, so they will see the compromised password and think the email sender has access to all of their accounts.

You can click here to read more about protecting your data privacy.

Do not send any money to the scammer & don’t reply to the email

The best thing you can do is change the passwords for your online accounts, especially if you’re using the compromised password in the scam email.

Make a list of all of the websites that you use and the login information you use to access them so you can keep track of your passwords.

If you have trouble keeping track of your passwords, consider using a password management tool like LastPass.

Call us if you need assistance with a suspected email scam

If you have engaged with the scammer or if you need help setting up a process to keep track of your passwords, call our store at 502-543-1877.

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