protos.com
On both coasts of Canada, citizens are receiving “unnerving” letters demanding $1,900 in bitcoin or risk having their nudes and dirty browser history sent to their loved ones.
While these bitcoin sextortion scams are nothing new, fraudsters are now using Google Maps streetview to fool victims into thinking that scammers have been standing outside their homes.
“It’s very unnerving, it’s very upsetting,” one Ontario woman told CTV News. “They had my name, address, email, cell phone and a picture of the street on which my home is.”
York Regional Police (YRP) have recently warned those in the Greater Toronto region that fraudsters are increasingly using publicly available information to appear legitimate. Passwords, addresses, phone numbers, social media accounts, and more are all easily found if victims were part of a third-party data breach, for example.
Indeed, without adding these details, bitcoin sextortion letters can read like they were sent by your annoying little nephew.
Read more: Hong Kong busts crypto scam that used AI deepfakes to create ‘superior women’
“I suggest you read this message carefully,” reads one letter shared by the YRP. “Take a moment to chill, breathe, and analyze it thoroughly. ‘Cause we’re about to discuss a deal between you and me, and I ain’t playing games.”
Some sentences even read like the lyrics of a song (that would slap). “Yeah, Yeah, I’ve got footage of you doing filthy things in your room (nice setup, by the way).”
According to a spokesperson for the North Vancouver RCMP, all reported bitcoin sextortion threats have thankfully been empty.
“So far, from all the victims that we’ve had, [the suspects] have not provided any images of the victim, so it’s just merely them saying that they have images,” (via North Shore News).
What’s more, it seems like victims aren’t easily convinced by these letters. Protos examined a bitcoin address sent to several sextortion victims, which showed zero transactions and a balance of $0.
That said, anyone who receives these messages are advised to sweep their devices for malware, immediately report the incident to local police, and to never send a dime.