The Australian Cyber Security Centre (ACSC) has issued a warning to the community to be aware of an online extortion program threatening to release personal and sensitive information unless a payment is made.
Labelled ‘sextortion’, the campaign has resulted in the ACSC, the Office of the eSafety Commissioner and Scamwatch receiving more than 300 reports in one week.
The ACSC said the scam email might appear to originate from an individual’s own email address and claim to have compromised a computer, router or other electronic device.
“It can include a password which the recipient has used in the past,” the ACSC said.
“Sextortion is a form of online blackmail where a perpetrator threatens to reveal intimate images of someone online, often to their friends and family, unless they pay a ransom (commonly in untraceable crypto-currency).”
It said that in most cases however, the scammers had no compromising information to offer.
“While the ACSC has not received any reports of financial loss, it would like to remind Australians not to make payments and cease all contact with the scammers,” it said.
The ACSC said people who received an email should not be concerned.
“These emails are typically generated in their thousands by online scammers using limited personal details that they are able to collect from the internet,” it said.
“If the email includes a password which you recognise then you should change all accounts which use this password.
“Make sure to use a strong password and don’t reuse passwords across different accounts.
“If you still have concerns report them to the Office of the eSafety Commissioner,” the ACSC said.
