Not to know what to do about this email.

[OhNoFuckADuck]

I haven't opened it because it looked dodgy but it says a website I use has been hacked. It says that when I went on the site and clicked on a video it played a porn video and turned on my camera and filmed me watching it. It asks for money or else the video of me watching porn will be emailed to all my contacts - I'm not sure what else it says because I didn't open the email - all this was in the preview window.

Now it's obviously a scam of some kind but what should I do about it?
I haven't seen any porn - but I think I might have had a video that I clicked on in the last couple days that didn't work/didn't look like the video it was meant to be - might have been a link on FB??? or on here? Might be just me being paranoid??? Also where did they get my email address?

I've had a quick google and can't see this as a known scam. It was a long email but I'm reluctant to open it. Is this something I should report to the police? Is it a Nigerian Prince type email where they have just randomly got my address from someone else's contact list?

I think I should know what to do but I don't. Does any of you know?

Delete it. It's a scam

I'd delete it and think no more of it.
It doesn't even sound plausible, I've never heard of the camera being switched on from an external source.
And even if it could be, what would they see? Your face looking perplexed?
Nah, get rid of the email.

Pop your email address in here - haveibeenpwned.com - and it will tell you if your data has been compromised. If so, it will also give you the name of the website that had been havked that had your data. If it comes back as „pwned” make sure you change your password.

The scam email I’d just delete.

Thanks - the thing that is worrying me is that when I google to find out about it I can't find anything. I know there are loads of scams out there but they usually show up if you search for them don;t they?

Delete and ignore.

If you're really worried, you could send a message to your contacts saying "I think my account may have been hacked, so if you get any peculiar looking emails from me in the next few days, please delete and ignore. This is probably a scam."

Thanks Dandy

I've seen it. It is a scam. Google blackmail cam scam

www.smh.com.au/technology/gadge

There was a tv programme - possibly Watchdog about exactly this scam.

It's a scam. It's a million times easier to send out an email with a generic threat to lots of people than it is to actually hack someone's computer, turn on their webcam, film them and then threaten only them. They expect a percentage of people to fall for it and that's how they profit from it.

@Dandy - thanks - that's a bit of an eye-opener!

Dandy I had no idea there were so many data breaches on so many sites you would trust....

run a virus scan or anitmalware program

Yes, it's definitely a scam. Usually it's ran via Skype, but it looks like they've branched out. They'll lure men into exchanging Skype details, then tell them they've recorded them naked after the conversation turns sexual. They threaten that they'll send it to all of their Facebook contacts unless they pay a certain amount.

www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-37735369

AnnaBay - all too plausible, I'm afraid, to my knowledge, it's been talked about for the past 5 years, at least.
Someone Is Watching You

Ouais crikey, that's bloody freaky stuff.

Yep, AnnaBay - I've got to take my laptop in for a new screen and I've decided I'm going to have to find a way to check if my camera has been hacked when I get it back! Paranoid, moi?

It's a scam but you could always stick a black label over your webcam if you are really concerned.

I got little black dot stickers off ebay for this reason. Search for "webcam covers"

It doesn't even sound plausible, I've never heard of the camera being switched on from an external source.

It can happen. It has happened.

On the advice of a friend who works in security at a high level, I now tape a piece of paper over my laptop's webcam eye when I'm not using it.

Ds had a virus installed in similar circumstances - Ransomware which used his webcam to insert a pic of him into the message.

Anna it can and does happen to devices connected to the internet. It's one of the things Edward Snowden revealed the US govt used to spy on people. Mark Zuckerberg uses webcam covers and if anyone knows about harvesting private information it's him!

I always cover my webcam. I never use it anyway because I don't Skype etc. - and I don't watch porn either so on paper, nothing to worry about. But I find the concept of knowing that my cam could be remotely activated and I wouldn't know about it, to be really disconcerting. If you don't want to buy covers, a small piece of black electrical insulation tape works perfectly. I have one on my work laptop as well - it just makes me feel a bit better although IT think that I am a paranoid wingnut

post it note will cover it perfectly/

If your pc is being remotely accessed or has been hacked, someone using your webcam is the least of your worries. Sod post it notes and sticky tape, educate yourself on internet security fundamentals, phishing, spoofing, patching, anti-malware and password management. It doesn't take long to put yourself out of reach of 99% of threats.

Scam. Delete it, including from trash bin and forget it. I usually change my password too just in case but am sure it's not necessary. Even if it were genuine, and did manage to turn on cam, you are sat (presumably fully clothed and not in a compromising position unless I am doing something very wrong when working from laptop...!) - they have nothing to email! :)