Nobody Wants To See That. Then Again, Nobody Will

A new scam email has cropped up, this time it was sent to Barrie 360’s Brett Glover.

What’s interesting about this scam, is that it appears to have come from Glover’s own work email address. The author claims to have taken control of Glover’s computer and gained access to his most personal of personal information: the adult sites visited.

The scam artist behind this bogus email claims to have not only made a video of the material in question, but also of the material… being enjoyed.

Barrie Police’s Peter Leon says this alleged video doesn’t exist, “It comes back to an intimidation factor; they’re using a tactic that is somewhat disrespectful, telling people that they are controlling their actions and watching their actions and what they’re doing. I think it just shows people how careful we need to be: if you don’t recognize an email, don’t open it.”

The email makes a demand for ransom, in this case $629 in bitcoin, to be sent to an untraceable address. Leon says those inclined to pay may be out more than just the initial demand, “Paying a ransom to an individual making a threat like this is not something that law enforcement suggests people do; if you pay it once, you may have to continue to pay it. Disregard the request, delete the email. If you feel the need to change your password… whatever you need to do to feel safe and secure.”

This isn’t the first time Leon had heard of this scam, saying a similar email was reported to Barrie Police earlier this week. Leon suggests anyone receiving a threat like this forward it on to the Canadian Anti Fraud Centre, a site containing a slew of information on similar scams.