Programmer Known In Darkweb Email Scam

What is "Programmer known in darkweb"?

"Programmer known in darkweb" is a spam email campaign that scammers use to trick people into believing that their computers have been infiltrated with a virus that has allowed cyber criminals to monitor their activities.

Generally, scammers behind these emails claim that they have obtained compromising material (photos or videos) and will use it against users if their demands are not met. Note that this is a common scam and should not be taken seriously or trusted.

According to this scam, the sender of this email is a programmer whose nickname on darkweb is 'cos37'. He claims that he has hacked the recipient's email six months ago and planted a trojan on the operating system. This scammer claims that he has been spying on the victim's system  for six (or more) months.

As a result, he was able to steal information such as browsing history, passwords, and logins of various accounts, such as email and social networks. Also, the contacts list and photos/videos. Furthermore, the scammer claims that he used the hacked device's camera to take a compromising photo of the user when visiting a website containing "intimate content".

The main purpose of this email scam is to make recipients believe that the embarrassing photo (which does not exist) will be sent to the user's contacts (friends, family, colleagues, etc.) unless $268 in Bitcoins is transferred to a Bitcoin wallet provided within 48 hours of receipt of the email.

Note that none of this information is accurate: scammers who use scam campaigns send emails such as "Programmer known in darkweb" to thousands of people and hope that someone will fall for it.

The scammer behind this email uses a 'spoofing' method used to falsify the email address and make it seem as if the recipient was also the sender - this can be confusing and could make some people believe that the problem is genuine and cannot be ignored. In any case, the best option in these cases is to simply ignore this and other similar scams.

Threat Summary:

Name	Programmer Known In Darkweb Email Scam
Threat Type	Phishing, Scam, Social Engineering, Fraud
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.

There are many examples of similar scams, including I'm Is Very Good Coder, I Have Bad News For You, and My Nickname In Darknet. Cyber criminals often use these scam campaigns in attempts to trick people into paying to prevent distribution of compromising photos or videos to users' contacts list.

Other spam email campaigns are used to infiltrate computers with infections. In these cases, scammers send emails that contain malicious attachments or web links. They present these emails as legitimate and claim to be representatives of well-known companies.

The main goal is to trick people into opening the attachment (MS Office document, PDF file, archive or executable file, etc.), which results in download/installation of a virus (such as TrickBot, Emotet, AZORult, or similar). These viruses often steal users' data. For example, passwords, logins, banking details, and various other data that might be used to generate revenue.

Thus, having these viruses installed can lead to privacy/browsing safety issues or even financial loss. Some viruses proliferate other viruses and cause chain infections (in which case, there is a strong possibility that the system might also be infected with a ransomware-type virus).

We receive a great deal of feedback from concerned users about this scam email. Here is the most popular question we receive:

Q: Hi pcrisk.com team, I received an email stating that my computer was hacked and they have a video of me. Now they are asking for a ransom in Bitcoins. I think this must be true because they listed my real name and password in the email. What should I do?

A: Do not worry about this email. Neither hackers nor cyber criminals have infiltrated/hacked your computer and there is no video of you watching pornography. Simply ignore the message and do not send any Bitcoins. Your email, name, and password was probably stolen from a compromised website such as  Yahoo (these website breaches are common). If you are concerned, you can check if your accounts have been compromised by visiting the haveibeenpwned website.

How do spam campaigns infect computers?

Email campaigns used to infect computers with viruses via attachments or web links can only do harm when the attachment or link is opened.

This depends on the format of the attachment. If the attachment is a Microsoft Office document, it will probably ask users to enable macro commands. If the virus is proliferated using an archive file, it will need to be extracted, and executable files need to be executed, and so on.

How to avoid installation of malware?

Do not open links or attachments presented in dubious/irrelevant emails, or emails received from unknown/suspicious addresses, and so on. Download software from official and trustworthy sources. Do not use various third party downloaders - these tools are often used to proliferate infections by presenting them as legitimate files/apps.

Download and install software carefully: check "Advanced", "Custom" and other similar settings or options. Deselect offers to install any unwanted applications and only then finish the download or installation process. Update your software using tools/implemented functions that are provided by official developers only.

Never use third party updaters, since these are often fake and infect computers rather than updating the software. We also recommend that you use Microsoft Office versions no older than 2010.

Newer versions have "Protected View" mode integrated, which prevents malicious attachments from downloading/installing viruses. 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 "Programmer known in darkweb" email message:

Subject: Account Security

Third party accessed to [user's email address]

Hello!

I'm is very good programmer, known in darkweb as cos37.
I hacked this mailbox more than six months ago,
through it I infected your operating system with a virus (trojan) created by me and have been spying for you a very long time.

I understand it is hard to believe, but you can check it yourself.
I'm sent this e-mail from your account. Try it yourself.

Even if you changed the password after that - it does not matter, my virus intercepted all the caching data on your computer
and automatically saved access for me.

I have access to all your accounts, social networks, email, browsing history.
Accordingly, I have the data of all your contacts, files from your computer, photos and videos.

I was most struck by the intimate content sites that you occasionally visit.
You have a very wild imagination, I tell you!

During your pastime and entertainment there, I took screenshot through the camera of your device, synchronizing with what you are watching.
Oh my god! You are so funny and excited!

I think that you do not want all your contacts to get these files, right?
If you are of the same opinion, then I think that $268 is quite a fair price to destroy the dirt I created.

Send the above amount on my BTC wallet (bitcoin): 1JRCbCH9E3iLhSXPTqtkgfAsJNT2xD74C5
As soon as the above amount is received, I guarantee that the data will be deleted, I do not need it.

Otherwise, these files and history of visiting sites will get all your contacts from your device.
Also, I'll send to everyone your contact access to your email and access logs, I have carefully saved it!

Since reading this letter you have 48 hours!
After your reading this message, I'll receive an automatic notification that you have seen the letter.

I hope I taught you a good lesson.
Do not be so nonchalant, please visit only to proven resources, and don't enter your passwords anywhere!
Good luck!

Another variant of "Programmer Known In Darkweb" scam email:

Text presented within:

Subject: security service. Third party accessed to

Hello!

I'm is very good programmer, known in darkweb as -.
I hacked this mailbox more than 3 months ago,
through it I infected your operating system with a virus (trojan) created by me and have been spying for you a very long time.

I understand it is hard to believe, but I have full access to your account:
You can check it yourself, I'm wrote you from yours account!

Even if you changed the password after that - it does not matter, my virus intercepted all the caching data on your computer
and automatically saved access for me.

I have access to all your accounts, social networks, email, browsing history.
Accordingly, I have the data of all your contacts, files from your computer, photos and videos.

I was most struck by the intimate content sites that you occasionally visit.
You have a very wild imagination, I tell you!

During your pastime and entertainment there, I took screenshot through the camera of your device, synchronizing with what you are watching.
Oh my god! You are so funny and excited!

I think that you do not want all your contacts to get these files, right?
If you are of the same opinion, then I think that $1200(USD) is quite a fair price to destroy the dirt I created.

Send the above amount on my BTC wallet (bitcoin): 157R7UeFCPVx4V1Z3bZHdo2xc9FznfAHU8
As soon as the above amount is received, I guarantee that the data will be deleted, I do not need it.

Otherwise, these files and history of visiting sites will get all your contacts from your device.
Also, I'll send to everyone your contact access to your email and access logs, I have carefully saved it!

Since reading this letter you have 48 hours!
After your reading this message, I'll receive an automatic notification that you have seen the letter.

Please do not try to answer me, the from-address is generated automatically!

I hope I taught you a good lesson.
Do not be so nonchalant, please visit only to proven resources, and don't enter your passwords anywhere!
Good luck!

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 Programmer Known In Darkweb 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.

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