Friday, April 16, 2021
Only Bitcoin Market News
Bitcoin Tax Solutions
  • Home
  • Bitcoin
  • Market
  • Cash
  • Price
  • Beginners
  • Gold
  • Private
  • Cryptos
  • Investors
  • Technical
  • Crash
  • Spam
  • Stock
  • Blockchain
  • Videos
  • Home
  • Bitcoin
  • Market
  • Cash
  • Price
  • Beginners
  • Gold
  • Private
  • Cryptos
  • Investors
  • Technical
  • Crash
  • Spam
  • Stock
  • Blockchain
  • Videos
Only Bitcoin Market News
No Result
View All Result

Following the money in a massive “sextortion” spam scheme

10 months ago
in Spam
3 min read
Following the money in a massive “sextortion” spam scheme
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter


Millions of “sextortion” spam messages sent between September 1, 2019 and January 31, 2020 generated nearly a half-million US dollars in profits for Internet criminals. The messages told recipients that their computers had been hacked, that the sender had captured video of them visiting pornographic websites, and threatened to share the video with the targets’ “friends” if they didn’t pay—asking for as much as $800 USD worth of Bitcoin (BTC) to be transferred to a wallet address.

The flow of that digital currency reveals that many of the operators behind these sextortion scams are connected to a much larger criminal digital economy. Though there were some smaller players involved in these spam campaigns, the movement of the BTC deposited in many of those wallets shows the campaigns were linked to other criminal enterprises—either funding other illicit activity or providing a way to convert the BTC to hard cash.

An example of the sextortion messages sent during the campaign.

We shared wallet data extracted from these spam campaigns with CipherTrace, Inc., to get more insight into the flow of digital currency connected to them. The wallet addresses used by the scammers to extract payments from victims were found to have made transactions with dark web marketplaces, stolen credit card data hawkers, and other elements of the cybercriminal economy. Other funds were quickly moved through a series of wallet addresses to be consolidated, put through “mixers” in an attempt to launder the transactions, and converted to cash, goods and services through other channels.

While the sextortion scams themselves were hardly innovative, the cryptocurrency flow wasn’t the only thing that suggested a certain sophistication behind some of the attackers. Many of the messages relied on a number of technically interesting obfuscation methods to try to slip by spam filters. And while the vast majority of recipients either never saw the messages or didn’t pay, enough saw and fell for the ploy that wallets associated with the messages pulled in 50.98 BTC during the five month period. That amounts to roughly $473,000, based on the average daily price at the times the payments were made, and an average of $3,100 a day.

It’s raining spam

Sextortion messages are a staple of low-level Internet scammers. They require relatively little technical skill to send, and do not require the actual compromise of the target’s computer. That is because the email addresses targeted by the scam and the passwords sent as proof to the victims are collected from published usernames and  passwords from old website breaches, widely published on the Internet. (Using password managers, not re-using passwords across accounts, and using services such as HaveIBeenPwned.com or Google’s Password Checkup can protect people from the use of old passwords by attackers.)

Compared to sophisticated ransomware campaigns (which can bring in millions of US dollars worth of…



Read more:Following the money in a massive “sextortion” spam scheme

Related articles

Gary Gensler Confirmed as the Next SEC Chair | CoinJournal.net

Gary Gensler Confirmed as the Next SEC Chair | CoinJournal.net

April 16, 2021
Step Involved in Bitcoin in Person

Step Involved in Bitcoin in Person

April 15, 2021
Tags: bitcoin news todayMassivemoneyschemeSextortionspam

Related Posts

Gary Gensler Confirmed as the Next SEC Chair | CoinJournal.net

Gary Gensler Confirmed as the Next SEC Chair | CoinJournal.net

by Bitcoin Market
April 16, 2021
0

The US Senate has confirmed that Biden’s nominee for SEC chair will take over officially from former chair Jay...

Step Involved in Bitcoin in Person

Step Involved in Bitcoin in Person

by Bitcoin Market
April 15, 2021
0

Bitcoin in person is not easy as saying but it convenient method for bitcoin trading because it is the...

Watch out as r/Wallstreetbets finally allows crypto threads… within limits

Watch out as r/Wallstreetbets finally allows crypto threads… within limits

by Bitcoin Market
April 15, 2021
0

The moderators of subreddit r/wallstreetbets have announced they will allow crypto discussion in the subreddit from today. The retail...

A Fraudster is Impersonating “Wolf Richter” via Email to Rip People Off: If You Get

A Fraudster is Impersonating “Wolf Richter” via Email to Rip People Off: If You Get

by Bitcoin Market
April 14, 2021
0

I’ve Arrived. My name is finally big enough in finance to be used by a fraudster. But the brain-dead...

Woz sues YouTube over “bitcoin giveaway” scam videos using his name

Woz sues YouTube over “bitcoin giveaway” scam videos using his name

by Bitcoin Market
April 14, 2021
0

Enlarge / A screenshot from Wozniak's lawsuit shows a typical "Bitcoin giveaway" scam video on YouTube.YouTube / Wozniak et...

Load More

Trend Now

  • Trending
  • Comments
  • Latest
Crypto-Powered Social Media Platform Voice Planning Launch for July 4 | CryptoGlobe

Crypto-Powered Social Media Platform Voice Planning Launch for July 4 | CryptoGlobe

June 8, 2020
Argo Blockchain boosts mining margins in July

Argo Blockchain boosts mining margins in July

August 5, 2020
5 Cryptocurrency Staking Providers – A Review | Hacker Noon

5 Cryptocurrency Staking Providers – A Review | Hacker Noon

January 30, 2021
North America’s first bitcoin ETF launches in Canada today

North America’s first bitcoin ETF launches in Canada today

February 18, 2021
Institutional investors see Bitcoin holding US$50,000 suggests ETP provider

Institutional investors see Bitcoin holding US$50,000 suggests ETP provider

February 18, 2021
J.K. Rowling Twitter Storm shows the Crypto Ecosystem Needs to Mature – CityAM

J.K. Rowling Twitter Storm shows the Crypto Ecosystem Needs to Mature – CityAM

May 19, 2020
Market Report: FTSE jumps past 7000 as China’s economy surges 18.3% and

Market Report: FTSE jumps past 7000 as China’s economy surges 18.3% and

0
Bitcoin daily chart alert – Bullish chart pattern develops – May 19

Bitcoin daily chart alert – Bullish chart pattern develops – May 19

0
Calvin Ayre Invests in True Reviews: A New Take on Consumer Review Sites Built on the

Calvin Ayre Invests in True Reviews: A New Take on Consumer Review Sites Built on the

0
J.K. Rowling Twitter Storm shows the Crypto Ecosystem Needs to Mature – CityAM

J.K. Rowling Twitter Storm shows the Crypto Ecosystem Needs to Mature – CityAM

0
Crypto.com’s MCO Visa Cards Are Now Shipping In Europe – Fintech Singapore

Crypto.com’s MCO Visa Cards Are Now Shipping In Europe – Fintech Singapore

0
Elon Musk tried to explain Bitcoin to JK Rowling on Twitter and this happened

Elon Musk tried to explain Bitcoin to JK Rowling on Twitter and this happened

0
Market Report: FTSE jumps past 7000 as China’s economy surges 18.3% and

Market Report: FTSE jumps past 7000 as China’s economy surges 18.3% and

April 16, 2021
Will Ethereum remain the second largest cryptocurrency? – Ventureburn

Will Ethereum remain the second largest cryptocurrency? – Ventureburn

April 16, 2021
Robinhood Has Restored Crypto Trading After ‘Major Outage’

Robinhood Has Restored Crypto Trading After ‘Major Outage’

April 16, 2021
Top Crypto News: 04/15 – Cryptocurrency News – Altcoin Buzz

Top Crypto News: 04/15 – Cryptocurrency News – Altcoin Buzz

April 16, 2021
Bitcoin falls as Turkey bans cryptocurrency payments

Bitcoin falls as Turkey bans cryptocurrency payments

April 16, 2021
Turkey bans crypto payments citing risks, hits Bitcoin price

Turkey bans crypto payments citing risks, hits Bitcoin price

April 16, 2021
  • Contact Us
  • Terms of Use
  • Cookie Privacy Policy
  • Privacy Policy
  • DMCA

© 2020 MarketForBitcoin.com

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Bitcoin
  • Market
  • Cash
  • Price
  • Beginners
  • Gold
  • Private
  • Cryptos
  • Investors
  • Technical
  • Crash
  • Spam
  • Stock
  • Blockchain
  • Videos

© 2020 MarketForBitcoin.com

  • bitcoinBitcoin(BTC)$61,481.00-1.83%
  • bitcoin-cashBitcoin Cash(BCH)$1,079.7728.35%
  • binance-coinBinance Coin(BNB)$522.63-5.13%
  • bitcoin-goldBitcoin Gold(BTG)$112.517.23%
  • bitcoin-privateBitcoin Private(BTCP)$0.992-4.90%
  • blocktixBlocktix(TIX)$0.02032.85%