How to spot scams like "My Trojan Captured All Your Private Information"

What is "My Trojan Captured All Your Private Information" email scam?

"My Trojan Captured All Your Private Information Email Scam" is just one of many spam email campaigns often used to blackmail people and trick them into transferring money to cyber criminals. In most cases, these criminals send emails stating that users' computer have been hacked, infected, and so on.

In this particular case, they send a message to each user claiming that a remote access tool has been installed, which has captured an embarrassing video. If ransom demands are not met, the cyber criminals threaten to send the video to other people (via the user's contacts). If you have received this email, do not worry, it is just a scam.

"My Trojan Captured All Your Private Information" email scam in detail

Hundreds or even thousands of people receive these emails. Many cyber criminals send this type of email and state that they have recorded a humiliating video of the email recipient. Cyber criminals claim that they have installed a trojan on the computer - supposedly when the user visited a pornographic website.

They also state that they have captured private information (including the contact list). One line in the message states that if a ransom of 600 Euros (in Bitcoins) is paid, they will erase the video. Otherwise, the video will be sent to everyone in the contact list.

According to this spam email, users have 30 hours to make a transaction, however, if more time is need, they must open the Calculator and press "+" three times. In this way, cyber criminals attempt to deceive users into believing that they can monitor their computer activity.

In fact, there is no 'humiliating video', trojan, or remote access control software installed on the system. This is a scam and you should ignore these emails if received. Certainly do not send money to these criminals. Your computer/personal information is safe and there is nothing to worry about.

Threat Summary:

Name	My Trojan Captured All Your Private Information Email Scam
Threat Type	Phishing, Scam, Social Engineering, Fraud
Address Of The Wallet Owned By Scammers	192CdbpYmpQhbpSZy5J9qyNE3YCxPpxdxv
Symptoms	Unauthorized online purchases, changed online account passwords, identity theft, illegal access of one's computer.
Distribution methods	Deceptive emails, rogue online pop-up ads, search engine poisoning techniques, misspelled domains.
Damage	Loss of sensitive private information, monetary loss, identity theft.
Malware Removal (Windows)	To eliminate possible malware infections, scan your computer with legitimate antivirus software. Our security researchers recommend using Combo Cleaner. ▼ Download Combo Cleaner To use full-featured product, you have to purchase a license for Combo Cleaner. 7 days free trial available. Combo Cleaner is owned and operated by Rcs Lt, the parent company of PCRisk.com read more.

Similar scams in general

There are many examples of similar spam campaigns, including Hacker Who Cracked Your Email And Device, Remote Control Desktop With A Key Logger, and We Have Installed One RAT Software. The senders of these emails are scammers (cyber criminals) and share an identical goal: to threaten people and make ransom demands.

Some spam email campaigns make no demands, but attempt to trick users into opening malicious email attachments. These are presented as bills, invoices, etc. in the form of .doc or .xls (Microsoft Office) documents. If you receive one of these emails, do not open the attachment, since this will allow high-risk viruses (such as TrickBot, Adwind, FormBook, etc.) to be proliferated.

These are designed to gather banking details, passwords, logins, and other sensitive data. It is also possible that some will open "backdoors" that might cause even more infections (such as ransomware-type virus infections). System infection by any of these viruses can result in serious privacy/browsing safety issues, or financial and data loss.

How do spam campaigns infect computers?

Many spam campaigns proliferate malicious attachments in the form of Microsoft Office documents. Once opened, they ask users to enable macro commands, which then allow attachments to execute certain commands that download and install malware.

Note that most of these attachments can harm computers (or users) only if they are opened using Microsoft Office programs (Word, Excel, or other). Therefore, if the attachment is opened using another program (also capable of reading the file format), the malicious software will not be downloaded or installed. These spam campaigns target only Windows Operating System users and users of other systems are generally safe.

How to avoid installation of malware?

Download, install/update software, and open email attachments with care. Do not open attachments without carefully studying them first. Do not open email attachments sent by unknown or suspicious senders, or if the attachments seem to be irrelevant.

Bear in mind that there are many rogue applications available, and these are often distributed through fake software updaters or via a deceptive marketing method called "bundling". It is important maintain up-to-date software, but even more important to use implemented functions or tools provided by the official developer only.

Be cautious when you download or install software, especially free products. Developers often use the "bundling" method to trick users into installing (or downloading) potentially unwanted applications (PUAs). They often achieve this by hiding them in "Custom", "Advanced" and other similar settings/options.

Note that only Microsoft Office 2010 and later versions have a "Protected View" mode that prevents downloaded files (such as the attachments mentioned above) from downloading malware. Therefore, do not use older versions, since this might result in various computer infections.

If you have already opened malicious attachments, we recommend running a scan with Combo Cleaner Antivirus for Windows to automatically eliminate infiltrated malware.

Text presented in the "My Trojan Captured All Your Private Information Email Scam" email message:

Subject: Hi, victim
hello, my prey.
I write you since I put a virus on the web site with porn which you have viewed.
My trojan captured all your private information and switched on your web cam which captured the process of your masturbation. Just after that the trojan saved your contact list.
I will erase the compromising video records and information if you pay me 600 EURO in bitcoin. This is wallet address for payment : 192CdbpYmpQhbpSZy5J9qyNE3YCxPpxdxv
I give you 30 hours after you open my report for making the transaction.
As soon as you read the message I'll know it right away.
It is not necessary to tell me that you have sent money to me. This wallet address is connected to you, my system will erased automatically after transfer confirmation.
If you need 48h just Open the calculator on your desktop and press +++
If you don't pay, I'll send dirt to all your contacts.
Let me remind you-I see what you're doing!
You can visit the police office but no one can't help you.
If you attempt to cheat me , I'll see it right away!
I don't live in your country. So no one can't track my location even for 9 months.
bye. Don't forget about the disgrace and to ignore, Your life can be ruined.

Instant automatic malware removal: Manual threat removal might be a lengthy and complicated process that requires advanced IT skills. Combo Cleaner is a professional automatic malware removal tool that is recommended to get rid of malware. Download it by clicking the button below:
▼ DOWNLOAD Combo Cleaner By downloading any software listed on this website you agree to our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use. To use full-featured product, you have to purchase a license for Combo Cleaner. 7 days free trial available. Combo Cleaner is owned and operated by Rcs Lt, the parent company of PCRisk.com read more.

Quick menu:

• What is My Trojan Captured All Your Private Information spam?
• Types of malicious emails.
• How to spot a malicious email?
• What to do if you fell for an email scam?

Types of malicious emails:

Phishing Emails

Most commonly, cybercriminals use deceptive emails to trick Internet users into giving away their sensitive private information, for example, login information for various online services, email accounts, or online banking information.

Such attacks are called phishing. In a phishing attack, cybercriminals usually send an email message with some popular service logo (for example, Microsoft, DHL, Amazon, Netflix), create urgency (wrong shipping address, expired password, etc.), and place a link which they hope their potential victims will click on.

After clicking the link presented in such email message, victims are redirected to a fake website that looks identical or extremely similar to the original one. Victims are then asked to enter their password, credit card details, or some other information that gets stolen by cybercriminals.

Emails with Malicious Attachments

Another popular attack vector is email spam with malicious attachments that infect users' computers with malware. Malicious attachments usually carry trojans that are capable of stealing passwords, banking information, and other sensitive information.

In such attacks, cybercriminals' main goal is to trick their potential victims into opening an infected email attachment. To achieve this goal, email messages usually talk about recently received invoices, faxes, or voice messages.

If a potential victim falls for the lure and opens the attachment, their computers get infected, and cybercriminals can collect a lot of sensitive information.

While it's a more complicated method to steal personal information (spam filters and antivirus programs usually detect such attempts), if successful, cybercriminals can get a much wider array of data and can collect information for a long period of time.

Sextortion Emails

This is a type of phishing. In this case, users receive an email claiming that a cybercriminal could access the webcam of the potential victim and has a video recording of one's masturbation.

To get rid of the video, victims are asked to pay a ransom (usually using Bitcoin or another cryptocurrency). Nevertheless, all of these claims are false - users who receive such emails should ignore and delete them.

How to spot a malicious email?

While cyber criminals try to make their lure emails look trustworthy, here are some things that you should look for when trying to spot a phishing email:

• Check the sender's ("from") email address: Hover your mouse over the "from" address and check if it's legitimate. For example, if you received an email from Microsoft, be sure to check if the email address is @microsoft.com and not something suspicious like @m1crosoft.com, @microsfot.com, @account-security-noreply.com, etc.
• Check for generic greetings: If the greeting in the email is "Dear user", "Dear @youremail.com", "Dear valued customer", this should raise suspiciousness. Most commonly, companies call you by your name. Lack of this information could signal a phishing attempt.
• Check the links in the email: Hover your mouse over the link presented in the email, if the link that appears seems suspicious, don't click it. For example, if you received an email from Microsoft and the link in the email shows that it will go to firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0... you shouldn't trust it. It's best not to click any links in the emails but to visit the company website that sent you the email in the first place.
• Don't blindly trust email attachments: Most commonly, legitimate companies will ask you to log in to their website and to view any documents there; if you received an email with an attachment, it's a good idea to scan it with an antivirus application. Infected email attachments are a common attack vector used by cybercriminals.

To minimise the risk of opening phishing and malicious emails we recommend using Combo Cleaner Antivirus for Windows. 

Example of a spam email:

What to do if you fell for an email scam?

• If you clicked on a link in a phishing email and entered your password - be sure to change your password as soon as possible. Usually, cybercriminals collect stolen credentials and then sell them to other groups that use them for malicious purposes. If you change your password in a timely manner, there's a chance that criminals won't have enough time to do any damage.
• If you entered your credit card information - contact your bank as soon as possible and explain the situation. There's a good chance that you will need to cancel your compromised credit card and get a new one.
• If you see any signs of identity theft - you should immediately contact the Federal Trade Commission. This institution will collect information about your situation and create a personal recovery plan.
• If you opened a malicious attachment - your computer is probably infected, you should scan it with a reputable antivirus application. For this purpose, we recommend using Combo Cleaner Antivirus for Windows.
• Help other Internet users - report phishing emails to Anti-Phishing Working Group, FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center, National Fraud Information Center and U.S. Department of Justice.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Why did I receive this email?

Most likely, scammers obtained your email address after a data breach. Either way, this email is not personal. Scammers have sent the same letter to all addresses in their database.

I have sent cryptocurrency to the address presented in such email, can I get my money back?

Crypto transactions are virtually untraceable. Thus, it is very unlikely that you will be able to retrieve the lost cryptocurrency.

Can emails be used to deliver malware?

Yes, emails can be used to deliver malware. They can contain malicious links or attachments. Opening emails of this kind is harmless. However, opening links or files can cause computer infections (especially when executable files are used to distribute malware).

Will Combo Cleaner remove malware infections that were present in email attachment?

Yes, Combo Cleaner will remove malware from the infected computer. This application can detect almost all known malware. When computers are infected with high-end malware, they must be scanned using a full scan. High-end malware can hide deep in the system. Thus, running a quick scan is not enough to detect (and remove) it.

▼ Show Discussion