Cybercriminals refer to social media in webcam blackmail emails or compromising photos to trick their victims. Some go so far as to introduce authentic passwords in the message to reinforce its credibility.
Sextortion is more topical than ever, and the first targets would be minors. The National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC), an American non-profit organization, alerts in a report published in early May, on the blackmailing of sexual photos and videos sent to adolescents.
The study reveals an 82% increase in reports of attempts to seduce children online, with the aim of blackmailing them. “One of the contributing factors to this growth has been an alarming increase in financial sextortion”, says the organization. US justice had already reported that 3,000 minors had received sextortion messages in 2022, reports CNN.
Younger generations, including minors, are more and more likely to have access to social networks and remain vulnerable to these criminal practices. The messages thus refer to alleged images that they would have shared on Instagram or TikTok.
If the criminals sometimes manage to hack the victim’s accounts to then blackmail them, it is most often campaigns intended to create a panic effect among the recipients to extract money from them. A Senate report published in 2020 gave the example of two 21-year-old French youths, convicted of a large operation in 2019. The criminal duo had sent millions of electronic blackmail messages to the intimate video. They ended up being arrested after 28,000 people were reported, more than 2,000 of whom filed complaints.
A leaked password to give more credibility
The filing of a complaint is also the reaction most recommended by the experts. ” This method plays on fear, the fear of being displayed shamefully on the web. It is possible that you have nothing compromising, but in doubt, you risk falling into the trap anxiously. Only one in three victims report these messages when they receive them. The first step should be to contact law enforcement. In fact, it already helps to feel less alone explains Jelle Wieringa, cybersecurity expert for Knowbe4.
With the proliferation of data leaks, criminals have adjusted their method to bring more legitimacy to their campaigns. ” We have noticed that cybercriminals tend to add authentic passwords in emails sent to victims. Bots make it fairly easy to find a secret code from an email from a leak. The criminals will then try to convince the victim that they have indeed recovered compromising photos from this password. The panic effect will be increased tenfold “, notes Jelle Wieringa.
” For cybercriminals, this is quite profitable. The message does not contain an attachment, so it will manage to pass through the spam filter of an email. Passwords can be found quite easily today. It only remains to persuade the recipient “, adds the cybersecurity expert.
Unsurprisingly, the advice to avoid facing these situations is classic. “Disconnect your webcam and even your microphone if you want to increase your protection. If the email contains a link, do not click on it. And finally, if you want to send photos, stop using social networks, ”says Jelle Wieringa. Recommendations still often overlooked.