Action Fraud is urging the public to beware of “phishing” emails, which could lead to online extortion attempts.
It follows a “staggering” rise in reports of such suspicious messaging in March this year.
The National Cyber Security Centre’s Suspicious Email Reporting Service (SERS) said it received 2,924 reports of concerning emails in March, compared to only 133 in February.
Many of the reported phishing emails received by SERS are said to relate to a type of extortion known as ‘Financially Motivated Sexual Extortion’ (FMSE).
“Follow our advice if you think you’ve received one of these phishing emails, it should be forwarded to report@phishing.gov.uk and then deleted after that.
“If you spot genuine personal information in an email, it is likely it came from an historic data breach, and you can check if you’ve been affected by one in the past.”
Det Chief Insp King urged members of the public to contact their local police force if they have been the victim of extortion.
“Even if you have concerns that someone may possess intimate images of you, you should tell the police by calling 101.”
Reports suggest the phrasing of the email and subject lines can vary, but the theme remains consistent, in that the phishing email claims to have installed malware on the recipient’s computer and recorded them visiting adult websites.
The sender will then coerce the email recipient to pay a ransom demand by threatening to release the videos.
That ransom is usually demanded in a form of cryptocurrency, such as Bitcoin.
In order to make these phishing attacks convincing, emails will often include genuine pieces of personal information relating to the victim, such as a password or home address.
It is likely these would have been obtained from historic breaches of personal data.
Analysis shows that many people who received these emails also later reported becoming victims of online account hacking.
Last year a male victim in his thirties was said to have received numerous extortion emails that contained a password he used for one of his online accounts.
The emails demanded a ransom of $500.
Having correctly identified the emails as a scam, he deleted them.
But, shortly afterwards, he noticed that he was unable to login to one of his social media accounts.
Following further checking, he realised one of his bank accounts and multiple social media accounts had been hacked and he was locked out of them.
If someone is considering paying the Bitcoin ransom, they should be aware that in doing so, they will potentially become the target of more scams, as the phisher will know they have, “a willing customer”.
The inclusion of genuine passwords or other personal information in phishing emails is a strong indication that the target may have been affected by a historic data breach.
Should the phishing email includes a password still in use the recipient is urged to change it, immediately.
Advice on creating suitable passwords and other authentication factors is available via: https://stopthinkfraud.campaign.gov.uk/protect-yourself-from-fraud/protecting-against-online-fraud/improve-your-password-security/.
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If someone has been the victim of extortion, or is concerned someone may be in possession of intimate images of them, it should be reported to their local police force, by calling 101.
Further information on protecting yourself against fraud is available via: https://stopthinkfraud.campaign.gov.uk.
If someone has lost money or provided financial information as a result of any phishing scam, they should notify their bank immediately and report it to Action Fraud at, https://www.actionfraud.police.uk/report-phishing, or by calling 0300-123 2040..
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