A new sextortion scam uses photos of your home stolen from Google Maps to threaten victims into sending cyber criminals money.
This new wave of emails follows the typical model of a sextortion scam- claiming to have ‘embarrassing footage’ of the victim that they will release to their friends and family unless they pay a fee. They may also claim to have compromised the victims devices with Pegasus spyware.
However, the new version of the scam adds a frightening new element to the threat- a picture of your home.
Cybercriminals are able to access your address from multiple sources such as publicly available databases, social media, data breaches and government records.
Last month all American Social Security Numbers were leaked in a massive data breach. The compromised information includes decades worth of names, addresses, social security and information linking relatives.
The sudden mass availability of this personal information will make it easier for scammers to create convincing threats and exploit victims' fears.
What is Sextortion?
Sextortion is a type of cyber scam that attempts to blackmail the victim by threatening to share incriminating images or videos.
The perpetrator will often demand money in exchange for not releasing the images to the public. This can be done through social engineering techniques. Perpetrators may use deceptive techniques to manipulate victims into believing they are engaging in consensual interactions. For instance, they might create fake online profiles to build trust with their targets, or they may use emotional manipulation to coerce victims into revealing personal information or engaging in explicit activities. These social engineering techniques can make it difficult for victims to recognize the danger and seek help.
However, in new campaigns the images and videos often don’t really exist. Cybercriminals threaten victims based on fake content. The average person has no way of verifying these threats and thus feels pressured to comply with the ransom.
Typically those most at risk are teenagers between 15 to 17 years old, and adults under 30, though anyone can be a victim.
What to do if you receive an sextortion threat?
If you have been targeted with a sextortion scam and photo of your home, remain calm- these threats are empty.
Avoid responding to the threats or demands. Engaging with the scammer may escalate the situation and make it more difficult to resolve. Don’t delete the email and make sure you take screenshots of the email itself and any attachments. This will provide evidence if you decide to report the incident to law enforcement.
You can simply ignore the email, but if you’re concerned you can use these screenshots to make a report to your local law enforcement who can provide you with further advice and potentially investigate the crime.
Checking your digital footprint is crucial after being targeted by a cybercrime. Start by reviewing your social media profiles, ensuring that your privacy settings are as strict as possible. Remove any unnecessary personal information, such as your address or date of birth.
Ensure that you have changed all your passwords and enabled mutli-factor authentication on all accounts. This is especially important if the threat emails contain reference to a password they have been able to access.
