The Blackmail Scam is also known as the Webcam Scam and the Sextortion Scam. If you get this thing in your inbox or spam folder, just ignore it or delete it. Here are the details:
The Blackmail Scam is usually an email from someone claiming they took control of your webcam without you knowing. They go on to say they’ve captured embarrassing videos of you through your computer. If you pay up, they promise not to send the video to anyone else. Please know that they did not access your camera or capture any video. The email is a complete lie, 100% fiction.
I know the email looks convincing and sounds worrisome. But it is just a bluff. They’re just spammers, and they sent this message to millions of people at one go. You may dismiss this message with extreme prejudice. Delete the email, or Mark It as Spam.
The blackmail scam resurfaces every few years, and sometimes the cybercriminal includes “your password.” The email will truly include a password familiar to you, from some website you’ve used in the past! If this happens to you, you should still not believe in the message. The scammers have simply obtained some leaked data from a website you once logged into, and they’ve included your leaked password for verisimilitude. After you delete the email, think about that password, and make sure to change it on any website where you may have used it.
