This article was published on April 23, 2019

Bitcoin hackers threaten to leak masturbation vids if victims don’t pay up

Hackers strike again with another sextortion scam


Bitcoin hackers threaten to leak masturbation vids if victims don’t pay up

Bitcoin sextortion scams are so 2018, right? Well, there are some hackers out there that would beg to differ.

It appears that residents of Norton, a small town in Kansas, US, are being targeted by scammers threatening to release sensitive material unless the victims pay a Bitcoin ransom. It’s not clear if this was an intentionally localized attack, or if others have been affected.

Norton Kansas Police Department published a public notice to their Facebook page warning locals of the danger earlier today.

Norton residents have been reporting an email, in which the hacker claims to have remote control over their victims’ computer. The hacker claims to have used this to steal personal data, and video their victims enjoying some personal time while watching pornography.

The <3 of EU tech

The latest rumblings from the EU tech scene, a story from our wise ol' founder Boris, and some questionable AI art. It's free, every week, in your inbox. Sign up now!

The hacker further says they also have screen captures of what the victim was watching at the time. For some, this might be enough to push them over the edge and meet the hacker’s demands.

Bitcoin, sextortion, hack, cryptocurrency

For $800, paid in Bitcoin, the hacker promises not to release their victims’ sensitive information.

Thankfully though, those targeted have remained courageous and it doesn’t look like anyone has fallen for this heinous scam. At the time of writing, the wallet address listed in the email remains empty.

Last year victims weren’t so savvy. In another Bitcoin sextortion scam, a hacker’s address earned over $17,000 in a few days.

As Norton police suggest, if you receive an email like this, ignore it. It should go without saying, don’t open any links and certainly don’t send any Bitcoin to the address listed in the email.

Did you know? Hard Fork has its own stage at TNW2019, our tech conference in Amsterdam. Check it out.

Get the TNW newsletter

Get the most important tech news in your inbox each week.

Also tagged with