13/10/2026
Scam alert 🚨
This landed in my inbox last night. For years these emails claimed to have recorded you on your we**am and threatened to send the footage to your contacts. The scammers have changed tactics. Now they say they have a “protected folder” holding your bank details, passwords, ID and private messages, and they’ll sell it unless you pay $750 in Bitcoin within 48 hours.
A few things give it away:
- It’s made to look like it was sent from my own email address. That’s easy to fake and doesn’t mean anyone has access to my account.
- There’s no proof at all. Not a single real detail about me.
- It mentions a “social security number”, which we don’t have in the UK. The same email has gone out to thousands of people.
- Bitcoin, a countdown and “I can see when you opened this” are all there to scare you into acting fast.
If you get one, don’t reply and don’t pay. Forward it to [email protected] and delete it. If you’re worried your details have been in a data breach, check your email address at haveibeenpwned.com, and change any password you’ve used on more than one site.
Please share this so it reaches someone who might panic and pay.