Costa News Spain Breaking News | English News in Spain.
The Spanish OSI Internet Security organisation has warned the public about a new email wave of “sextortion” that asks recipients to pay an amount of Bitcoin currency in order to prevent the leakage of sexual content, which is alleged to involve the victim. The blackmail contains threatening phrases, such as: “You still owe a payment.” You have to pay off your debt”, “Open it before it is too late!” You could get in legal trouble and this is your last opportunity.
OSI said that cybercriminals don’t have access explicit content, and they use extortion to get the victim into paying. They also use Bitcoin because it’s hard to track.
It’s best to delete any emails that you received from this sender. Never reply to or make a payment to this email. This will confirm the victim’s active account and could lead to further fraud.
You can follow these steps to find out if you made the payment:
Collect all evidence that can be gathered, such as screenshots, emails and other communications with cybercriminals.
Contact the Spanish State Security Forces to lodge a complaint.
Use online witnesses to confirm evidence and get additional proofs that could help you.
You can ‘egosurf’ to see if images or videos are published. This involves searching for your name on databases, in print, online and other documents. You can request the removal of such content by exercising your right to privacy if you find it.
– If you have received an email that contains the above features, please contact the INCIBE cybersecurity hotline in Spain by calling 017.
