Scam: THREAT
Thread poster: writeaway
writeaway
writeaway  Identity Verified
French to English
+ ...
Jul 22, 2018

A colleague (in France) received the following email. The name it was sent to is the Proz ID used ONLY on Proz. So it would appear that somehow this person's details were passed to this scammer/crook via Proz.
Has anyone else received a similar email that appeared to be sent with details apparently taken from Proz?
Apart from reporting this to Proz and to the ISP, does anyone have any suggestions as to what can be done?
Needless to say, the colleague is ignoring all demands.
... See more
A colleague (in France) received the following email. The name it was sent to is the Proz ID used ONLY on Proz. So it would appear that somehow this person's details were passed to this scammer/crook via Proz.
Has anyone else received a similar email that appeared to be sent with details apparently taken from Proz?
Apart from reporting this to Proz and to the ISP, does anyone have any suggestions as to what can be done?
Needless to say, the colleague is ignoring all demands.

Sujet : xxxx (colleague's Proz ID+ email name)
Date : Sat, 21 Jul 2018 20:49:01 +0000
De : Jayne Milne
Pour : xxxx (colleague's email address)


I know xxx (Proz ID) is your pass. Lets get right to point. You do not know me and you are probably wondering why you are getting this email? Absolutely no one has compensated me to investigate you.

Let me tell you, I actually placed a software on the adult videos (sex sites) web site and you know what, you visited this website to have fun (you know what I mean). While you were viewing video clips, your browser started working as a RDP with a keylogger which provided me access to your display as well as web cam. Immediately after that, my software gathered every one of your contacts from your Messenger, social networks, and email . And then I made a video. First part displays the video you were watching (you've got a good taste lol . . .), and next part displays the view of your webcam, & its u.

You get just two choices. Lets check out each of these options in details:

1st choice is to neglect this email. In this scenario, I will send your very own tape to all your your personal contacts and then just think about the humiliation you will see. Do not forget if you happ(en to be in an intimate relationship, how it is going to affect?

Second alternative would be to compensate me $1000. We will refer to it as a donation. As a consequence, I will straightaway erase your videotape. You will go on with your daily life like this never occurred and you are never going to hear back again from me.

You will make the payment through Bitcoin (if you do not know this, search "how to buy bitcoin" in Google search engine).

BTC Address to send to: 1BChzAa3eeL7SuhWCsE7kJgQ6t5pWwphHx
[case sensitive so copy and paste it]

If you are thinking about going to the law enforcement officials, very well, this mail cannot be traced back to me. I have dealt with my actions. I am just not attempting to charge you a whole lot, I just want to be rewarded. You have one day in order to make the payment. I have a specific pixel within this email message, and at this moment I know that you have read through this message. If I do not receive the BitCoins, I definitely will send your video to all of your contacts including friends and family, co-workers, and so forth. Nevertheless, if I do get paid, I will erase the recording right away. If you want to have proof, reply Yea then I definitely will send out your video to your 7 contacts. It's a non:negotiable offer, so please don't waste my time and yours by replying to this email.
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Susana E. Cano Méndez
Susana E. Cano Méndez  Identity Verified
Spain
Local time: 15:45
French to Spanish
+ ...
Blackmail Jul 22, 2018

OMG. This is blackmail. Have your friend reported it to the police and to Proz? Thanks for warning us.

[I have just seen your friend has reported.]

[Edited at 2018-07-22 11:31 GMT]


 
Lian Pang
Lian Pang  Identity Verified
Netherlands
Local time: 15:45
Member (2018)
English to Chinese
+ ...
Hacking is unlikely, but data breach is real Jul 22, 2018

Apparently the Nigerian prince has gotten aggressive this time . Scammers are getting more and more refined.
See here :
https://www.google.pl/amp/s/gizmodo.com/dont-fall-for-this-scam-claiming-you-were-recorded-watc-1827557323/amp

While it is unlikely that your accounts are hacked or you have been re
... See more
Apparently the Nigerian prince has gotten aggressive this time . Scammers are getting more and more refined.
See here :
https://www.google.pl/amp/s/gizmodo.com/dont-fall-for-this-scam-claiming-you-were-recorded-watc-1827557323/amp

While it is unlikely that your accounts are hacked or you have been recorded, your data has been leaked for sure . Change passwords immediately and up your security measures.

ProZ staff might also want to look into this .
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Thomas T. Frost
Thomas T. Frost  Identity Verified
Portugal
Local time: 14:45
Danish to English
+ ...
Report it Jul 22, 2018

In the case of France, online abuse can be reported to https://www.internet-signalement.gouv.fr/PortailWeb/planets/Accueil!input.action or directly to the procureur de la république (public prosecutor). There... See more
In the case of France, online abuse can be reported to https://www.internet-signalement.gouv.fr/PortailWeb/planets/Accueil!input.action or directly to the procureur de la république (public prosecutor). There is a guide at https://www.gouvernement.fr/sites/default/files/contenu/piece-jointe/2014/09/dihal_pnlhi_-_guide_du_recours_au_procureur.pdf .

It is important to keep and provide all evidence, including any email headers.

It is obviously uncertain if the criminal can be found and prosecuted, but I still think it's important to report all attempted crime.
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Walter Landesman
 
Alaa Zeineldine
Alaa Zeineldine  Identity Verified
Egypt
Local time: 16:45
Member (2002)
English to Arabic
+ ...
Received same Jul 22, 2018

I received the same threat a couple of days ago and just deleted the email. I am pretty sure it is due to a leak from or hack into one of two possible translation portals. I will report it to the potential admins.

Not sure that much more needs to be done apart from changing passwords.


 
Tony M
Tony M
France
Local time: 15:45
Member
French to English
+ ...
SITE LOCALIZER
Me too Jul 22, 2018

I too received the same message, albeit using a pseudo that has nothing to do with ProZ.com or indeed any other professional network I belong to; like Alan, I too simply deleted it.
The only thing that bothers me is that it cited a pseudo that I use in lots of places, so I have no way of knowing which of many sites might have been hacked


 
Natalie
Natalie  Identity Verified
Poland
Local time: 15:45
Member (2002)
English to Russian
+ ...

MODERATOR
SITE LOCALIZER
Just a new kind of scam Jul 22, 2018

writeaway wrote:
A colleague (in France) received the following email. The name it was sent to is the Proz ID used ONLY on Proz. So it would appear that somehow this person's details were passed to this scammer/crook via Proz.


Is your colleague 100% sure that s/he has NEVER replied to some ProZ.com profile message/offer/question/whatever-else-it-could-be from a google/hotmail/any-other-email-address? When you reply such messages you provide your email address used at the site.


Apart from reporting this to Proz and to the ISP, does anyone have any suggestions as to what can be done?


This is just a new kind of scam, see
https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/security/beware-of-extortion-scams-stating-they-have-video-of-you-on-adult-sites/
https://www.theregister.co.uk/2018/07/13/hacker_extortion_scam/
etc.

Report it - that's actually all that can be done.


 
Tom in London
Tom in London
United Kingdom
Local time: 14:45
Member (2008)
Italian to English
Here's how Conor Pope dealt with this particular scam Jul 25, 2018

https://www.irishtimes.com/life-and-style/people/i-enjoy-baiting-scammers-i-have-a-dedicated-email-address-anaive-eejit-1.3571295

".....a 30-second Google search confirmed the email to be a scam. It also told me that whoever was behind it had made tens of thousands of dollars from nervous porn us
... See more
https://www.irishtimes.com/life-and-style/people/i-enjoy-baiting-scammers-i-have-a-dedicated-email-address-anaive-eejit-1.3571295

".....a 30-second Google search confirmed the email to be a scam. It also told me that whoever was behind it had made tens of thousands of dollars from nervous porn users worldwide in under a week and I found out my old password had been stolen in a LinkedIn hack years ago and flogged on the dark web.
The password is the key to this scam. It makes people question their security and ask themselves if the sender knows this one intimate detail of their online life, what else might they know? What else might they have seen? What might they do next?"

[Edited at 2018-07-25 07:49 GMT]
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Daniel Frisano
Daniel Frisano  Identity Verified
Italy
Local time: 15:45
Member (2008)
English to Italian
+ ...
Solved Sep 6, 2018

Received the same message last week. Told them to show me the video as proof, and I would pay immediately. Haven't heard since.

Kevin Fulton
 


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