How to avoid a Bitcoin blackmail scam

Scammers Blackmailing Clients Using Hacked Passwords

Fraudsters have been sending emails to people claiming they know some secrets about their private/professional life like they are aware of some of their scandalous affairs. They can avoid exposing the evidence to their partner, friends or seniors if they transfer a huge amount of money into the given accounts.

The calls claim they recorded the person watching adult clips and can release the videos of the victims watching the films if they do not transfer the desired sum of money in their accounts or have hacked the machine and can view all the files & the codes.

Furthermore, they state they have the passwords and can compromise their system if their wishes are not fulfilled.

If you get any such emails, you should report them to the regulatory authorities. 

How To Spot It?

• In most cases, the other person puts pressure to act in a specific manner. They want you to act quickly and demand that you not delay; otherwise, you will miss the deal, lose money, or lose your reputation. 

• Always be suspicious of any email or call from an unknown person and take your time to respond to any such call. All requests that are out of the ordinary should be treated with doubt. 

• Carefully check the mailers' names and addresses and try to retrieve information about the location of the correspondence. Also, check the websites where the addresses are directed to/ appearing to come.

• For example, some of the links may be directed to a known bank, but the address may have some spelling error or other forms of errors on the site.

• Any authorised organisation will never ask for the bank/ tax details, or passwords or PINs. You should be extra careful to ensure safe browsing to check if the link is flagged as fraudulent. 

• Pay attention to the correspondence used in the mails and always reject the online marketing campaigns with links, registration forms and emails offering huge profits in an unapproachable project that cannot provide authentic testimonials or reviews from previous or current buyers.  

Most crypto routes offer untraceable money deals due to the anonymous nature of digital assets. But, several criminals have been caught trading in such options.

The authorities use the latest techniques to track the fund movement across the blockchains that even involve the history and public list of all the trade conducted through the individual wallets.

The criminals are now worried about being caught, and they are using sophisticated tricks to identify the risk factors associated with the trade. Globally governments have come together to identify the route of transactions. 

Also, there has been an increase in ransomware attacks where the criminals ask for payment in bitcoins. The regulatory agencies issued warnings to caution users about the technical support or phone sim swapping that can lead to identity theft.

The criminals target the crypto users, trading on exchanges or with third-party providers. Once the stolen crypto asset is transferred to another account, it gets difficult for law enforcement to track the transaction.

In recent times the criminals introduced privacy coins, which offer anonymity to the trader, and hackers often ask the victim to pay them through it. But, you cannot use such digital options to buy goods or services like the mainstream– cash or card.