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Sextortion: “I have a video of you” — what to do and what not

There are two kinds of sextortion. The mass e-mail claiming to have a video of you (which does not exist), and the targeted blackmail after a video call in which you were recorded. Both ask for the same thing: money, fast, in bitcoin. And in both cases paying is the worst thing you can do.

The mass e-mail is a bluff. It often contains an old password of yours (from a data breach) to seem credible, and a bitcoin address. There is no video. Millions of people get the same e-mail.

The targeted variant is real and hits young people most: contact via Instagram or Snapchat, a flirt, a video call — then threats to send the images to family and friends. Even then: do not pay. Whoever pays is asked again. Whoever stops responding and reports it almost always sees that the images are never shared.

How to spot it

1
An old password in the e-mail.It comes from a data breach, not from your webcam. Check on haveibeenpwned.com which breach it was.
2
Pay in bitcoin within 48 hours.Anonymous payment plus deadline: the pattern of every blackmail e-mail.
3
Vague “proof”.“I recorded everything”, without showing a single frame. Whoever has something shows it.
4
After a video call: suddenly screenshots and a list of your contacts.This is the real variant. Stop responding; the account is often gone within days.
5
The e-mail is in broken language and addressed to nobody in particular.A mass mailing, sent to a leaked address list.

A real example, taken apart

e-mail, sender appears to be your own address

I know your password is “summer2019!”. I hacked your webcam and have a video of what you visited. Pay $950 in bitcoin to 1Kz…, or I send it to all your contacts. You have 48 hours.

Why this is fake

The password comes from an old breach; everyone in that breach gets the same e-mail.
No image is shown, because it does not exist.
The sender can be faked; “from your own address” proves nothing.

What you do

Do not pay and do not reply.Not even to “negotiate”. Every reply confirms your address works and that you are afraid.
Change the password mentioned — everywhere you still use it.And switch on two-step verification. That is the only real risk in this e-mail.
With real images: keep the evidence and report it.Screenshots of the profile and the threats. Then block. Report to the platform and file a police report: politie.nl, or via Helpwanted.nl (for under-18s also Meldpunt Kinderporno).
Talk to someone.Sextortion runs on shame. One conversation with a friend, parent or Slachtofferhulp takes the pressure off. For young people: Helpwanted.nl, free and anonymous.

Never do this

Pay. Not once, not “to be done with it”.
Send more images because the extortionist demands it.
Carry the problem alone.

Questions people ask

I paid. Is it over now?

Usually not: paying marks you as someone who pays, and the demand comes back. Stop paying and responding now, file a police report and change your passwords.

Can they really have hacked my webcam?

In the mass e-mail: no, it is a text sent to millions of addresses. If you want to be sure: put a piece of tape over your webcam and keep your software updated. But the e-mail itself is a bluff.

The extortionist really has images and threatens to send them to my family. What now?

Do not pay, but act: keep evidence, block, file a report, and tell the people around you what is going on before the extortionist does. Helpwanted.nl helps get images removed.

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Sources

Helpwanted.nl — help with online sexual abuse · Police — sextortion · Have I Been Pwned

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