Email Scam Rakes in Nearly $1 Million in Bitcoin

A scam that targets those who enjoy online porn has separated victims from almost $1 million, according to a recent report from Fortune.com. When AVN first reported on the scam last year, scammers had earned almost $40,000, paid in BitCoin. The scam involves sending emails to people, mostly at work, claiming malware has been installed on their computer, and has recorded video of them watching porn videos. To “prove” they are legit, the scammers usually include a password either currently or previously in use by the target, which was most likely found during a LinkedIn hack last year. According to SludgeFeed.com, the scammers also sometimes use threats to destroy data or even threats of violence. The report from Fortune, millions of emails have been sent and around $949,000 has been paid to date, with the average payment coming in at $593.56. Security experts say the best way to deal with the scam, other than ignoring the email, is to ensure you are not using the same password for every site.     Photo by Porsche Brosseau / Flickr Creative Commons