Email sent from my email address to me threatening to blackmail me

[delilabell]

I've had an email sent to me today, from my email address saying they've accesed my camera etc and filmed me masturbating to adult sites (I've never been on adult sites ) and that unless I send them 500bitcoins they'll send it to eeveryone.
They won't send a made up video of me will they?

This is the email

No it's a common scam. Delete it.

No, it’s a scam.

Thank you! How have they used my email address though? It stresses me!

I’m assuming you are genuinely worried rather than being ironic? This is a huge scam and you don’t need to reply or do anything. Nothing bad will happen.

I've had this. I deleted.

What a nasty scam. Would the police investigate?

@ENoeuf sadly I'm being truthful I have anxiety and worry about things like this!

Definitely a scam so ignore and delete! I've had that before. They harvest stolen passwords and use that to trick you into thinking they might have hacked your phone or whatever.

All total bollocks.

they can fake the 'from' address in the email so that it looks like it is from you.

change the password on your email and add 2 factor authentication if you want to be 100% sure, but these scammers are v unlikely to have access to your email.

I've had this email before, delete and don't give it a second thought.

If you look at the details you will see that it's not actually sent from your address. It looks like it is but it isn't. For example you won't find a copy in your sent box. I've had an almost identical email and just ignored it.

I had one of these at work . It’s a scam . It gave the security guys a laugh !

I've had this too. Please don't worry. It's not really from your account. Delete it and don't give it another thought.

@delilabell

Thank you! How have they used my email address though? It stresses me!

Either they have guessed it by emailing millions of random guesses or they have got it from some security breach.

They don't know you or your email address. Though they would very much like you to reply as then your email address is confirmed as real.

Ignore it and do NOT reply.

I've had these on & off for about 2 years - as I have never done things they claim in the emails, I have just ignored them. Nothing happens - it's a round robin scam that "mirrors" your email but isn't from your email.

They have not sent it from your emailand you have not been hacked. Google Action Fraud and forward the email to their phishing scam email.

www.actionfraud.police.uk/report-phishing

This explains more. The sender simply changes their sent email for yours. It isn't really from your email. It's a con.

A young lad named Joseph Edwards took his own life after getting this/something very similar.

It's a tricky one to broach with a teenage boy but I've had to have the conversation with mine that if he or his friends receive anything like this they're to tell their trusted adult. Don't care if it's not me, just don't panic!

It’s a scam. If you click on ‘your’ email address it’s sent from it will be just a random address like [email protected] or whatever.

Have you ever had an email from ‘PayPal’ or ‘Amazon’ they do a similar thing where the email address will say it’s from them but you click on it and it’s not.

I got sent an ending saying my wife has cheated on me and they’ve got naked photos of her. They weren’t asking for money or anything so it looked really genuine - apart from the fact that I’m mot married and I’m not a lesbian.

Never email back on click on links if you’re not sure who it’s from.

I had one of these yesterday and it's actually got my address in it! Anyone know how they would have my address?

Love these. I email them back to say I've got plenty of them and some are totally appalling and would they like them for a price.

I've had this email loads of time. It's a scam. Delete it.

Thank you everyone you have calmed me down 💗

To make you feel better op I get these fairly regularly to my work email. Not only have I not been wanking at work (in my open plan office) my computer doesn’t even have a camera to catch me if I did!
Just delete it.