# Those blackmailing emails - any use in reporting them? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [November 7, 2018, 1:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/those-blackmailing-emails-any-use-in-reporting-them/824129 "2018-11-07T13:35:41Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![saje](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saje/32/3631_2.png) [@saje](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/saje)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2018, 1:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/those-blackmailing-emails-any-use-in-reporting-them/824129/1 "2018-11-07T13:35:41Z")
And if so, to who? > [@](#): > > I am aware \*\*\*\* is your passwords. Lets get straight to point. There is no one who has paid me to check you. You do not know me and you’re probably wondering why you’re getting this email? > > actually, i actually placed a malware on the adult video clips (adult porn) site and you know what, you visited this site to have fun (you know what i mean). When you were viewing video clips, your internet browser started out operating as a Remote Desktop having a keylogger which provided me access to your display screen and also webcam. after that, my software program obtained your entire contacts from your Messenger, social networks, and email . after that i created a double-screen video. 1st part displays the video you were viewing (you have a nice taste ; )), and next part shows the recording of your webcam, & its u. > > You have not one but two choices. We should analyze each of these choices in aspects: > > 1st solution is to just ignore this e-mail. in that case, i most certainly will send your actual tape to each of your your personal contacts and thus think concerning the humiliation you can get. and likewise if you happen to be in a romantic relationship, how it will certainly affect? > > 2nd alternative should be to compensate me $3000. We are going to regard it as a donation. Then, i will straight away remove your video. You will keep on your way of life like this never occurred and you will never hear back again from me. > > You will make the payment by Bitcoin (if you don’t know this, search ‘how to buy bitcoin’ in Google). > > BTC address to send to: 19y7xxkEhNegDB6YBYGCYspPYSoC5LNxaa > [case-SeNSiTiVe copy and paste it] > > in case you are thinking of going to the law enforcement officials, well, this email cannot be traced back to me. I have dealt with my moves. i am also not attempting to ask you for so much, i just like to be paid. You have 48 hours to pay. i’ve a specific pixel in this email, and at this moment i know that you have read this e-mail. if i do not receive the BitCoins, i will certainly send your video recording to all of your contacts including family members, co-workers, and so forth. Nonetheless, if i receive the payment, i’ll destroy the video right away. This is the non-negotiable offer, therefore please don’t waste mine time & yours by responding to this e-mail. if you really want evidence, reply with Yup! & i will send your video to your 10 contacts Considering that I don’t use a laptop, I don’t visit porn sites, and my desktop camera is generally pointed off to the side (I only use the mic occasionally) it’s utter bullshit and I’m not worried. The password mentioned is for something that was closed well over a year ago, and I don’t use that pw at all now. My preference would be to delete and block (though I’m sure it’ll come around again from another IP) but should I notify anyone? FBI? Police? Sheriff? Shit like this pisses me off because there ARE poor fools who WILL be conned, and scammers are the lowest of the low. I’d love to have a minuscule part in cutting them off at the knees. ` ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2018, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/those-blackmailing-emails-any-use-in-reporting-them/824129/2 "2018-11-07T15:55:28Z")
> [@saje](#): > > And if so, to who? > > Considering that I don’t use a laptop, I don’t visit porn sites, and my desktop camera is generally pointed off to the side (I only use the mic occasionally) it’s utter bullshit and I’m not worried. The password mentioned is for something that was closed well over a year ago, and I don’t use that pw at all now. My preference would be to delete and block (though I’m sure it’ll come around again from another IP) but should I notify anyone? FBI? Police? Sheriff? Shit like this pisses me off because there ARE poor fools who WILL be conned, and scammers are the lowest of the low. I’d love to have a minuscule part in cutting them off at the knees. > ` It’s a well-known scam by now. I got the same email about three months ago. Since it’s IMHO, all I could say is that I doubt it serves any useful purpose to report it. It’s known; presumably the email addresses it’s sent from change constantly; etc. I get scam emails several times a week, mostly of typical “GOD BLESS YOU! IVE GOT SHITTONS OF MONEY THAT I RANDOMLY PICKED YOU TO HAVE HELP ME ACCESS” 419 type of scam. That’s been around for years, nay decades by now, and shows no sign of stopping, so I’d be really surprised if reporting does any good. Just toss it. Actually, now that I think of it, reporting it as spam to your email provider may actually help in tweaking their spam filters. Like I see on my gmail I has a “report spam” and “report phishing” link. So if you use one of these email services, I guess it doesn’t hurt to report it. ---
**Author:** ![CookingWithGas](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cookingwithgas/32/485_2.png) [@CookingWithGas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CookingWithGas)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2018, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/those-blackmailing-emails-any-use-in-reporting-them/824129/3 "2018-11-07T16:25:52Z")
I got two of these recently. It would be a waste of time to report it to anybody. They are probably outside of the U.S. There is no way they will be able to find them. The email is almost certainly spoofed, and the Bitcoin account is theoretically untraceable. The ones who are more dangerous are the ones who actually deploy a virus to your machine, encrypt your files, then extort money for the decryption key. ---
**Author:** ![saje](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saje/32/3631_2.png) [@saje](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/saje)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2018, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/those-blackmailing-emails-any-use-in-reporting-them/824129/4 "2018-11-07T20:09:53Z")
That’s what I thought, but times change, and actually it’s been a while since I’ve gotten even a bankroller email. Guess the filtering kinda works! I’ll add this to the spam/autopurge list. ---
**Author:** ![seal\_cleaner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e274bd/32.png) [@seal\_cleaner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/seal_cleaner)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2018, 12:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/those-blackmailing-emails-any-use-in-reporting-them/824129/5 "2018-11-08T00:25:09Z")
I get the occasional spam (and sometimes phone calls) about malware attacks on my computer. They always reference windows, but my laptop is a Mac. Just phishing. ---
**Author:** ![Hari\_Seldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hari_seldon/32/5173_2.png) [@Hari\_Seldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hari_Seldon)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2018, 2:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/those-blackmailing-emails-any-use-in-reporting-them/824129/6 "2018-11-08T14:46:33Z")
If I call something phishing, my mailer always asks if it should be reported and I always do. I think it goes to Microsoft. I’m sure it is hopeless. ---
**Author:** ![Mrs\_Ducky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrs_ducky/32/6227_2.png) [@Mrs\_Ducky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mrs_Ducky)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2018, 10:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/those-blackmailing-emails-any-use-in-reporting-them/824129/7 "2018-11-08T22:07:14Z")
The first time I got one of these they said they wanted 7000 in bitcoin. I don’t even have a webcam on this PC. I was just getting ready to go on vacation and took my laptop with me. While I was on WIFI, my laptop suddenly froze up and a little Microsoft Security window came up. I couldn’t do anything. When I got home and booted this PC back up, I got a notification from Microsoft Defender that it blocked ETD\_GETSmart.exe from making changes to memory. It definitely was a threat, but I got rid of it. I got another one of these emails from a different address but nothing else ever happened. My laptop has a webcam built in but it quit working after a Microsoft update and I uninstalled it. ---
**Author:** ![Daylate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9dc877/32.png) [@Daylate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Daylate)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2018, 11:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/those-blackmailing-emails-any-use-in-reporting-them/824129/8 "2018-11-08T23:01:14Z")
I don’t have any trouble with this sort of thing, I just don’t open any emails that are not from someone I know well, usually for years. I have a lot of fun in the morning selecting the emails that are to be immediately deleted. Don’t even look at the subjects. This is how I handle my telephone calls, too. If I don’t know who you are, you don’t get answered. In fact, there is a little gadget on my telephone system that lets me permanently block any number by pushing, at any time, a big red button. There are hundreds of such numbers on this list now, and the list is growing. This system has a nice feature. When a call comes in from a blocked number, the phone will ring, but only once. This is a great feeling! I don’t know what I’ll do if Publisher’s Clearinghouse wants to call me to deliver the news that I’ve won a jillion dollars. Guess that’s a chance I’ll have to take. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2018, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/those-blackmailing-emails-any-use-in-reporting-them/824129/9 "2018-11-09T16:39:36Z")
I received one of these last week - exactly the same template as I´ve seen others describe, claiming to have hacked my email and have footage of me while I was watching porn. Odd thing is, the threat email tried to reinforce its message by telling me what my password was - now as far as I understood from others´accounts, this password is usually somewhat accurate. This one wasn´t - and it wasn´t even similar to any passwords I´ve ever used ---
**Author:** ![Enola\_Gay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/3ab097/32.png) [@Enola\_Gay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enola_Gay)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2018, 7:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/those-blackmailing-emails-any-use-in-reporting-them/824129/10 "2018-11-10T07:50:26Z")
There’s a Black Mirror episode about guys who fall for this.