Tech Stuff: Everyone Needs To Know About The 'Hello Pervert' Email Sextortion Scam

Continuing on with this particular run of tech posts, I received the message below (and the weird characters were revealed only upon copying and pasting the text here):

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"Hello pеrvеrt,

This mеssаgе was sent from your own [REDACTED] account.

You аrе currеntly in а very serious situаtiоn. However, there is а wаy out—if you аct wisely.

Have you ever hеаrd of Pegаsus? It's а sоphisticated spyware tооl that instаlls on соmputers and smartphоnes, letting hаckers monitor dеvicе оwnеrs’ activity. It grants аccеss to your wеbcam, mеssеngеrs, еmails, саll logs, and mоre. It works seаmlessly on Andrоid, іOS, macOS, and Windows. You аlrеаdy undеrstаnd what this is аbоut.

Several mоnths аgо, I instаllеd it on аll of your dеvicеs. You wеrеn’t pаrticulаrly cаutiоus аbоut which links you сlicked оnlinе—and thаt wаs your mistаkе. Since then, I’ve оbsеrvеd every аspеct оf your privаtе lifе. Onе pаrticulаr dеtаil stood оut.

I hаvе саpturеd еxplicit fооtаgе оf you pleаsuring yoursеlf tо highly cоntrоvеrsiаl pоrnоgrаphy. Givеn the rеpеаtеd аnd spеcific gеnrе, it’s sаfе to соncludе your prеfеrеncеs аrе disturbingly dеviаnt.

I dоubt you wаnt your friеnds, fаmily, or соllеаguеs to еvеr sее thаt fооtаgе. But I саn mаkе it hаppеn—with just а fеw сlicks.

Everyone in your соntасt list will rесеivе the mаtеriаl: viа WhatsApp, Telegram, Instagram, Facebook, еmаil—еvеrywherе. It will bе а digitаl tsunаmi thаt wipеs аwаy еvеrything in its pаth—stаrting with your fоrmеr lifе.

Don’t fооl yoursеlf intо thinking you’rе the victim hеrе. Whаt’s rеcоrdеd rеvеаls who you rеаlly аrе. Cоnsidеr this your rеckоning.

I sее еvеrything. But dоn’t раnic. Just likе the Gоd you might prаy tо, I, too, саn show mеrcy. But mеrcy hаs its price.

Trаnsfеr 1300 USD worth of Litecoin (LTC) to the fоllоwing wаllеt аddrеss: [REDACTED]

Onсе I соnfirm the trаnsаctiоn, I will pеrmаnеntly dеlеtе аll соmрrоmising fооtаgе, rеmоvе Pegasus from your dеvicеs, and disарреаr from your lifе. You hаvе my wоrd—this is strictly businеss. Withоut the раymеnt, I’ll dеstrоy your rерutаtiоn withоut hеsitаtiоn.

I’ll bе nоtifiеd whеn you оpеn this еmаil. Frоm thаt mоmеnt, you’ll hаvе еxасtly 48 hоurs to соmрlеtе the раymеnt. If you’rе nеw to сrурtосurrеnсу, dоn’t worry—it’s simplе. Sеаrch “how to buy Litecoin” or “crypto exchange,” and fоllоw the stерs. It’s nо hаrdеr thаn buying sоmеthing оnlinе.

You аrе wаrnеd:

* Do nоt rерly to this еmаil. It wаs sеnt from your own [REDACTED] аccount.

* Do nоt соntаct the pоlicе. I will knоw. The mаtеriаl will gо рubliс.

* Do nоt аttеmpt to rеsеt or dеstrоy your dеvicеs. I аm wаtching еvеrything you dо.

Аnd rеmеmbеr—сrурtосurrеnсу trаnsасtiоns аrе аnоnymоus. You wоn’t trасе me.

This is your оnе аnd оnly wаrning.

Be smаrt. Stаy quiеt. Раy."

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Over the course of a few years, this is the second time I've received this type of message. The first time was a little worrisome, until rationale kicked in. I don't look at anything "disturbingly deviant" and, like Mark Zuckerberg, unless I'm in a meeting, my cameras are covered.

One more thing: the email starts by claiming it "...was sent from your own account." That's also curious, because I went to the "Sent" box, and there's no supposed message to myself in there. That means my email address was from a spoofed, external source and, thankfully, my email host confirmed something was weird about the message origin:

Be diligent, my friends, and be proactive. If you cover those cameras, the threatening messages become entirely moot. Keep in mind on laptops, though: some computer manufacturers warn against using tape, since the tolerances are tight and the added pressure can damage/crack the glass. Something easily moveable, like an old, creased business card works just fine. Add some black paper tape to the card if you want to make it more aesthetic and less distracting.

I've seen investigative reports, where some of these scams have been tracked down to internet cafes in Africa. The conditions aren't good, and the people are poor. Other times, these messages might be linked to organized crime rings. In any case, if the demand was to send a couple hundred bucks USD worth of crypto, it's possible I'd just roll my eyes, move along, and not write about it. In this case, it's $1300. That's evil. For some people, that would mean having to decide if they want to pay rent or eat this month - not both. Plus, I have zero faith that a blackmailer would actually delete supposed footage and remotely uninstall nearly-undetectable software upon making a crypto payment.

The updated, more advanced version of this scam is to figure out the target's home or work address and include a Street View screenshot. It's disturbing on another level but still not proof that there's footage of you at your computer gorging on chips, picking your nose, or... doing anything at all. Also, notably, the standard message no longer claims to "have video of you jerking off", which was likely updated after women reported receiving emails with that wording.

We need to put an end to this scam. If you get the same message as above, know that many others have, as well. Counter the closing message in the attempted blackmailer's email: Yes, be smart, but also: DON'T stay quiet about the attempted scam, and DON'T pay.

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I borrowed this Emmy.

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"Tech Stuff: Everyone Needs To Know About The 'Hello Pervert' Email Extortion Scam"

Written by: Justin Kilmer

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