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Urgent help needed

74 replies

Babyroobs · 28/07/2020 14:05

My DS is away in his University town. He rang me extremely distressed this morning saying that someone in the Philippines is blackmailing him as they have somehow got hold of some ( I presume of a sexual nature) footage and are threatening to send it to all his facebook friends and post on Instagram. They are asking for money. He says he has not done anything wrong ( as in broken the law ) just been naïve. I have not received anything, my niece has. Is there any action he can take. I have advised him to call the police.

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Asiama · 28/07/2020 14:07

Oh no! That's really distressing. Try contacting these people www.actionfraud.police.uk

P0lka · 28/07/2020 14:07

It's a common email scam; the target receives emails threatening to release webcam footage of masturbation, if the target doesnt send bitcoin - is that what's happened here? If so, it's a scam they've got nothing

PurpleDaisies · 28/07/2020 14:09

This is a common scam.

Babyroobs · 28/07/2020 14:09

@P0lka

It's a common email scam; the target receives emails threatening to release webcam footage of masturbation, if the target doesnt send bitcoin - is that what's happened here? If so, it's a scam they've got nothing

Thanks P0lka. he says it is definitely him in the footage ? he is so distressed, I am worried for him and he is miles away.

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P0lka · 28/07/2020 14:10

Has he seen the footage, or just been told there is footage of him?

ChazsBrilliantAttitude · 28/07/2020 14:10

It’s a well known scam.
www.consumer.ftc.gov/blog/2020/04/scam-emails-demand-bitcoin-threaten-blackmail

TinkersTailor · 28/07/2020 14:10

It's a scam.

I've had a few in my junk email this year saying they've got footage of me 'enjoying myself to pleasurable adult websites'
If I didn't pay them in bitcoin immediately they'd share it with all my friends and family.

Of course, nothing happened.

Tell him to ignore the emails and don't open any of the links!

Babyroobs · 28/07/2020 14:10

@PurpleDaisies

This is a common scam.

So do they have footage of him. I don't understand. I am beside myself with worry .

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TinkersTailor · 28/07/2020 14:11

Just seen the update..

Has he actually seen the footage? How could someone have possible gotten hold of footage of him in that way?

Babyroobs · 28/07/2020 14:11

@P0lka

Has he seen the footage, or just been told there is footage of him?

I think he has seen the footage.

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Babyroobs · 28/07/2020 14:12

@TinkersTailor

Just seen the update..

Has he actually seen the footage? How could someone have possible gotten hold of footage of him in that way?

I don't know. Obvioulsy he wont tell me exactly what it is regarding as he is embarrassed. He just says he was naïve but has done nothing wrong, just been stupid.

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ChazsBrilliantAttitude · 28/07/2020 14:12

Ask him if he has seen any footage or just been told they have it?

In the unlikely event they do have footage then it’s one for the police. If there is no footage then it’s a scam.

Cheetahfajita · 28/07/2020 14:12

It's a scam. They do not have footage of him.

They may well know a password he's used in the past but it's still a scam.

Tell him to call 101 and they will advise him.

P0lka · 28/07/2020 14:13

You need to find out. If it's just emails saying they have footage, ignore it and move on - it's a very well known scam. If he has proof they have footage that's a different matter.

Babyroobs · 28/07/2020 14:13

@Cheetahfajita

It's a scam. They do not have footage of him.

They may well know a password he's used in the past but it's still a scam.

Tell him to call 101 and they will advise him.

Yes I advised him to do that this morning and they are checking up on him later. He had been awake stressing all night about this.

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Cheetahfajita · 28/07/2020 14:14

What do you mean by your niece has received something?

queenofelves · 28/07/2020 14:14

Has footage actually been sent to your niece? Has your son viewed the supposed footage and is it definitely him?

This is a very common scam, I received a few junk mails from the same person who supposedly had footage of me pleasuring myself and viewing porn sites after they accessed my webcam. I don't have a webcam for them to hack . So of course this was all lies and just deleted and ignored.

However, if something has been sent to your niece then it sounds as though this isn't just the usual scam that goes around?
Can you get in contact with your son again and get some further information so you can see if it is just a common scam or something more sinister?

IAmcuriousyellow · 28/07/2020 14:15

This happened to a friend of mine.

He styled it out by posting on all platforms what had happened, said he’d done nothing wrong or unusual, most people masturbate, it’s a shame some people have to resort to blackmail to make a living... and so to be aware that they might get said video and to choose wisely as to whether they wanted to watch it or not!

He got such huge support, nobody was mean or unpleasant and it provoked some very interesting discussions.

AdelaideK · 28/07/2020 14:16

I've had that email. I just ignored it and nothing happened. It's a popular scam.

chipsandgin · 28/07/2020 14:16

It’s quite likely to be the sextortion scam which has resurfaced this year:

www.google.co.uk/amp/s/www.thesun.co.uk/tech/11444245/bitcoin-sex-scam-footage-porn/amp/

It tells the recipient that they have footage of them masturbating to porn on their laptop (they don’t have this) & makes it believable by using a password that they have got from a site, any site where the site has been hacked (such as LinkedIn or an online shop) but the user happens to have used a password which they use often so it seems feasible.

It’s not true and nothing to worry about.

I had one of these emails earlier this year - however having literally never watched porn, let alone on a laptop I saw it as a scam straight away - but being slightly concerned that they used my first name and an old password I googled it and it comes up with many warnings of the scam above.

Chances are it’s more believable/worrying if one has indulged in something similar to what they are claiming & whilst I get that it’s not something you probably want to dwell on it is likely to be the situation your DS is in...(but the good news is it’s more than likely a total scam and these bastards have nearly managed to get him...but there is no actual footage, no list of contacts and no need to send money to some nasty criminal...they just rely on people fallng for their claims & paying up).

Babyroobs · 28/07/2020 14:17

@Cheetahfajita

What do you mean by your niece has received something?

My son was obviously most worried about family seeing it, these people said they would send it to me, my other son and my niece, obviously they have picked up on the surname being the same from his fb friends list. He immediately asked me if I have had anything sent to me and I haven't , but he is saying that my niece ( his cousin) in the Us has and he has asked her not to open it. But then again it could just be that she has received something from an unknown person.

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Tuemay · 28/07/2020 14:18

Get him to delete all of his social media ?

Babyroobs · 28/07/2020 14:18

@chipsandgin

It’s quite likely to be the sextortion scam which has resurfaced this year:

www.google.co.uk/amp/s/www.thesun.co.uk/tech/11444245/bitcoin-sex-scam-footage-porn/amp/

It tells the recipient that they have footage of them masturbating to porn on their laptop (they don’t have this) & makes it believable by using a password that they have got from a site, any site where the site has been hacked (such as LinkedIn or an online shop) but the user happens to have used a password which they use often so it seems feasible.

It’s not true and nothing to worry about.

I had one of these emails earlier this year - however having literally never watched porn, let alone on a laptop I saw it as a scam straight away - but being slightly concerned that they used my first name and an old password I googled it and it comes up with many warnings of the scam above.

Chances are it’s more believable/worrying if one has indulged in something similar to what they are claiming & whilst I get that it’s not something you probably want to dwell on it is likely to be the situation your DS is in...(but the good news is it’s more than likely a total scam and these bastards have nearly managed to get him...but there is no actual footage, no list of contacts and no need to send money to some nasty criminal...they just rely on people fallng for their claims & paying up).

Ok thanks for this.

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AudacityOfHope · 28/07/2020 14:19

It's a really common scam. I've had it but as I knew I'd never wanked in front of my laptop I laughed and deleted it.

Even if (big if) it was true - which it isn't - so what? Everybody wants!

AudacityOfHope · 28/07/2020 14:19

Wanks! Not wants. But still, it's fake.

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