Do not trust the 'I Do Know Your Passwords' email scam

What is "I Do Know Your Passwords"?

"I Do Know Your Passwords" is one of many email scams used to obtain money from recipients by deception. In this particular, email scammers claim that they have recorded a compromising video, which they will proliferate unless recipients pay $1000 in Bitcoins.

Note, all claims in emails of this kind are false and should not be taken seriously. We strongly recommend that you ignore these emails and delete them from the Inbox immediately.

The scammer behind this email claims that the recipient's passwords and browsing activity have been obtained. The computer was apparently infected with malware through an adult website, which the recipient had supposedly visited before receiving the message.

Installed malware supposedly allowed this scammer to access the recipient's screen and camera, and collect contact lists from Facebook, Messenger, and email accounts. Furthermore, the scammers claims that a double screen video has been recorded, whereby the recipient can be seen watching an adult video.

A threat is made to send this video to all of the contacts collected unless $1000 in Bitcoins is received. To avoid spam filters, scammer proliferate this scam by sending the message in password-protected PDF documents and attaching them to emails.

Anti-virus suites and other virus detection engines cannot scan password-detected documents, and thus email scams of this type are not marked as 'spam' and recipients receive them in their Inbox (rather than Spam) folders. Typically, passwords for password-protected documents such as this PDF document are provided in the email messages.

In any case, none of these email scams can be trusted and they should be deleted from any folder. We receive a great deal of feedback from concerned users about this type of email scam. Here is the most popular question we receive (in this case, relating to a scam that claims to have obtained compromising videos or photos of the user):

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.

Threat Summary:

Name	"I Do Know Your Passwords" Sextortion Email Scam (PDF).
Threat Type	Phishing, Scam, Social Engineering, Fraud.
Fake Claim	The scammer claims that the computer is infected with malware, which allowed the recording of a compromising/humiliating video.
Malicious Attachment	murka111.pdf - password-protected PDF document.
Cyber Criminal Cryptowallet Address	13ajfLBScsUNSJ3t65fsCmT1TRkQCUMYA1
Ransom Size	$1000 in Bitcoins
Symptoms	Unauthorized online purchases, changed online account passwords, identity theft, illegal access of the 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 other email scams online. Some examples are "I know you are a pedophile", "ChaosCC hacker group", and "The last time you visited a Porn website".

 Generally, scammers send the messages to trick people into believing that a humiliating video has been recorded (or photo taken), which will be sent to other people unless they pay the scammer a specific sum (typically, in a cryptocurrency). Unfortunately, cyber criminals also use emails to proliferate malware.

They attach a file and hope that recipients opens it - it then installs malicious software such as TrickBot, LokiBot, Emotet, FormBook, or other high-risk malware.

How do spam campaigns infect computers?

Spam campaigns/emails are used to distribute malware through files that are attached to them. Therefore, these files cannot infect computers unless recipients open them.

If opened, however, they allow the files to install malicious software. Examples of files that can be used to proliferate malware are Microsoft Office or PDF documents, executable files such as .exe, JavaScript files, archives such as ZIP, RAR, and so on.

For example, if the attached file is a Microsoft Office document, when opened, it will demand permission to enable macros commands (to enable editing). Once a malicious document receives this permission, it installs malware.

How to avoid installation of malware

Attachments or web links that are included in irrelevant emails and received from unknown/suspicious addresses should not be opened. Generally, scammers/cyber criminals disguise these files and/or emails as important and official.

Files should not be downloaded from unofficial, dubious websites, sources such as Peer-to-Peer networks, third party downloaders, or programs installed through third party installers. The safest way to download is to use official websites and direct links.

Installed programs should be activated and updated properly, since third party/unofficial tools can be used to distribute malware and infect computers with high-risk malicious software. Note that it is illegal to activate licensed software using 'cracking' tools.

Downloaded MS Office documents should be opened with Office 2010 or later versions, since they include "Protected View" mode, which prevents malicious documents from installing unwanted, rogue software. Protect your system by regularly scanning it with reputable anti-virus or anti-spyware software and eliminating detected threats immediately.

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 password-protected PDF document, which is attached to "I Do Know Your Passwords" scam emails:

Hello,  
I do know your passwords (check this email subject for one of the passwords), I do know about your daily life, I do know about your internet activities but you do not know anything about me, and you must be wondering why you are getting this email, right? I installed a malware on the adult (porn) website and guess what, you visited this website to have fun (you know what I mean!). While you were watching the porn, your web browser started functioning as an RDP+keylogger, which gave me access to your display screen and camera. Right after that, my software collected all of your contacts from your Facebook account, Messenger account, and email account, then, I created a double screen video. The first part shows the video you were watching (you have a nice taste lol), and the second part shows the recording of your camera (it is you!).  
You have two options -   
1. First option is to ignore this email. In this case, I will send the recorded video clip of yours to all of your contacts and just imagine the humiliation you will feel from this. Don't forget that this can also affect your relationship as well.   
2. Second option is to pay me $1000. We will call it a donation. In this case, I will right away delete your video and all of your information I have about you (including your contact lists) and you will never hear from me again. You can continue your daily life like this never happened.   
You will make the payment via Bitcoin. If you do not know about Bitcoin, search Google for "how to buy bitcoin". You can also get the Bitcoin from sites like Bitstamp, Coinbase, Kraken, Localbitcoins, etc.  
Bitcoin (i.e. BTC) address to which you need to send is -  
 13ajfLBScsUNSJ3t65fsCmT1TRkQCUMYA1, 1FGR4QEoNneYMN4FMSHykqzGuqWsVmKvJ
It is Case-Sensitive, so make sure to copy and paste it, or, you can also scan this QR image to get the BTC address:  
 
If you are thinking to go to the police, good luck, I have taken every step to make sure that this email cannot be traced back to me. You have 48 hours to pay me. I have a special Facebook pixel in this email, and at this moment, I know that you have read this email. If you want proof, reply to this email, and I will send your video to 4 of your contacts.

Screenshot of the email message:

Text presented in it:

Pass-word: 4534

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 I Do Know Your Passwords Sextortion 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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