Do trust the fake "E-mail To You From An Account Of Yours" email

What is the "E-mail To You From An Account Of Yours" email?

After analyzing the "E-mail To You From An Account Of Yours" letter, our researchers determined that it is a sextortion scam. This email falsely claims that the sender has an explicit video of the recipient, which will be leaked to their contacts - unless a ransom is paid.

It must be emphasized that the information provided by this spam email is false. Therefore, recipients are not at risk, and no such recording exists in the scammers' possession.

"E-mail To You From An Account Of Yours" email scam overview

The email's first line inquires whether the recipient had gotten the sender's letter from their own account. If true, this may appear to give the following claims more credibility - but it does negate the fact that they are false.

Recipients may have had their email account compromised because of a phishing scam they had fallen victim to previously; the less likely reason is that the account was exposed due to a mass data breach. However, this does not bear any impact on the sextortion scam itself. If you suspect that your email account has been compromised, immediately change the passwords of all potentially exposed accounts and contact their official support.

This spam letter states that the sender has been watching the recipient for several months by using a trojan. The fake malware infection supposedly allowed the scammers access to the device's camera and microphone, which were used to obtain footage of the recipient visiting adult-oriented websites. The letter then claims that a compromising video was compiled featuring the recipient on one side of the screen and what they were watching on the other.

Furthermore, the scammers state that they have obtained the recipient's email, social networking, and messenger contact lists. The spam email threatens to send the nonexistent recording to the contacts - unless a ransom of 1250 USD in Bitcoin cryptocurrency is paid. If the sum is not transferred within 48 hours, the video will be leaked.

The same will also occur if the recipient discloses the contents of this letter to someone else. This last statement is intended to prevent users from learning that this email is a scam.

As mentioned in the introduction, the footage that the scammers claim to have - does not exist. Therefore, "E-mail To You From An Account Of Yours" and similar scam emails must simply be ignored.

Threat Summary:

Name	E-mail To You From An Account Of Yours sextortion email
Threat Type	Phishing, Scam, Social Engineering, Fraud
Fake Claim	An explicit video will be leaked unless the recipient pays the cyber criminals.
Ransom Amount	1250 USD in Bitcoin cryptocurrency
Cyber Criminal Cryptowallet Address	1GkrqGsN3ZpusEqQQqESZ6h2Wxdo6AW8xc (Bitcoin), 1P28gw81epAv9RfjhaJikNjukboCrj8Lvn (Bitcoin), 14dbcD3gXf5eHkYuA2PYf2nakQ5B7hVqHj (Bitcoin), 1PUwf7ybLvvKLJ8NpWeaEChz4WFQtnC2Gx (Bitcoin), 1Chh8EcWosTHo7LyVhkoDsyhVBmGDPnqNo (Bitcoin), 1FNekLQTVyEoVMHW4uRvmPGWAa5FiRqtMu (Bitcoin), 1ArrA3D7zbPnGmNXTiDu829fEwzZKFoXG (Bitcoin), 0xbaF1d265404637230E3701dfC1A870b437688587 (Ethereum)
Distribution methods	Deceptive emails, rogue online pop-up ads, search engine poisoning techniques, misspelled domains.
Damage	Loss of sensitive private information, monetary loss.
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.

Sextortion scam email examples

We have analyzed countless sextortion emails; "Your system has been hacked with a Trojan virus", "I have been watching you", and "Start The Conversation With Bad News" are just a couple of examples.

Spam letters are used for various scams; they can employ scare tactics or otherwise play with the recipients' emotions to trick them into performing specific actions (like paying a ransom). These emails can also be disguised as messages from legitimate institutions, authorities, companies, service providers, and other entities.

In addition to phishing and other assorted scams, spam mail is also used to distribute malware (e.g., trojans, ransomware, cryptocurrency miners, etc.).

How do spam campaigns infect computers?

Spam mail is commonly used to proliferate malicious software. These emails/messages can have infectious files attached to them or contain links to dangerous websites (designed to stealthily download/install malware or lure users into doing so themselves).

Virulent files can be in various formats, e.g., archives, executables, Microsoft Office and PDF documents, JavaScript, etc. Once such a file is opened - the infection chain is initiated.

For example, Microsoft Office documents infect systems by executing malicious macro commands. This process begins the moment a document is opened in pre-2010 Microsoft Office versions. While newer ones have "Protected View" mode; hence, macros have to be enabled manually (i.e., users have to click enable editing/content). Note that virulent documents often contain messages intended to bait users into allowing macro commands.

How to avoid installation of malware?

We highly recommend exercising caution with incoming mail. The attachments and links found in dubious/irrelevant emails and other messages - must not be opened/clicked, as they can contain malware. Additionally, it is important to use Microsoft Office versions released after 2010.

However, malware is distributed using various methods. Therefore, we also advise using official and verified download sources. Another recommendation is activating and updating software only with functions/tools provided by legitimate developers, as those acquired from third-parties may cause system infections.

We must stress the importance of having a reputable anti-virus installed and kept up-to-date. Security programs must be used to perform regular system scans and to remove detected threats. If you've already opened malicious attachments, we recommend running a scan with Combo Cleaner Antivirus for Windows to automatically eliminate infiltrated malware.

Text presented in the "E-mail To You From An Account Of Yours" email letter:

Subject: Business proposal.

Greetings!
Have you seen lately my e-mail to you from an account of yours?
Yeah, that merely confirms that I have gained a complete access to device of yours.

***I have been observing all the events and actions in your computer, while checking through browser history of yours.***

Within the past several months, I was observing you.
Are you still surprised how could that happen? Frankly speaking, malware has infected your devices and it's coming from an adult website, which you used to visit.
Although all this stuff may seem unfamiliar to you, but let me try to explain that to you.

 

With aid of Trojan Viruses, I managed to gain full access to any PC or other types of devices.
That merely means that I can watch you whenever I want via your screen just by activating your camera as well as microphone, while you don't even know about that.
Moreover, I have also received access to entire contacts list as well as full correspondence of yours.

You may be wondering, "However, my PC is protected by a legitimate antivirus, so how could that happen? Why couldn't I get any alerts?"
To be honest, the reply is quite straightforward: malware of mine utilizes drivers, which update the signatures on 4-hourly basis,
which turns them to become untraceable, and hereby making your antivirus remain idle.

I have collected a video on the left screen where you enjoy wanking, while the video on the right screen shows the video you were watching at that point of time.
Still puzzled how much damage could that cause? One mouse click is enough for me to share this video to your social networks, as well as e-mail contacts of yours.
In addition, I am also able to gain access to all e-mail correspondence as well as messengers used by you.

Below are simple steps required for you to undertake in order to avoid that from occurring - transfer $1250 in Bitcoin equivalent to my wallet
(if you don't know how to complete that, just open your browser and make a google search: "Buy Bitcoin").

My bitcoin wallet address (BTC Wallet) is: 1GkrqGsN3ZpusEqQQqESZ6h2Wxdo6AW8xc, 1PUwf7ybLvvKLJ8NpWeaEChz4WFQtnC2Gx, 14dbcD3gXf5eHkYuA2PYf2nakQ5B7hVqHj, 1ArrA3D7zbPnGmNXTiDu829fEwzZKFoXG, 1Chh8EcWosTHo7LyVhkoDsyhVBmGDPnqNo

Once the payment has been confirmed, I shall remove the video without delay, and that is end of story - afterwards you won't hear about me again for sure.
The time for you to perform the transaction is 2 days (48 hours).
After this e-mail is opened by you, I will get an automatic notice, which will start my timer.

Any effort to complain will not change anything at all, because this e-mail is simply untraceable, just like my bitcoin address.
I have been developing these plans for quite an extended period of time; so, don't expect any mistake from my side.

If, get to know that you tried to send this message to anyone else, I will distribute your video as described earlier.

Appearance of the "E-mail To You From An Account Of Yours" spam email (GIF):

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Quick menu:

• What is E-mail To You From An Account Of Yours sextortion email?
• 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?

Spam emails are not personal; thousands of users receive the same email letters.

Was my computer actually hacked and does the sender have any information?

No, the claims made by "E-mail To You From An Account Of Yours" are fake. Hence, neither is your system infected nor do the scammers have footage featuring you.

How did cyber criminals get my email password?

Emails are highly sought after by cyber criminals; hence, hundreds of different types of phishing scams target these log-in credentials. Your email password is likely to have been obtained via one of them. For example, through a spam letter supposedly sent by the email service provider claiming the account requires updates or you to address other issues, a "protected" file or site that needed verification by providing email credentials, a fake registration website that recorded this information, or one of many others. The less likely scenario is a mass data breach from a service provider or a different platform storing this information.

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

Cryptocurrency transactions are virtually untraceable, which makes them irreversible. Therefore, you will not be able to retrieve your funds.

I have provided my personal information when tricked by a spam email, what should I do?

If you have disclosed account credentials - change the passwords of all possibly exposed accounts and inform their official support without delay. And if you have provided other personal information (e.g., ID card details, credit card numbers, etc.) - immediately contact the corresponding authorities.

I have read a spam email but didn't open the attachment, is my computer infected?

No, opening/reading a spam email will not trigger any system infection processes. Malware download/installation is jumpstarted when the files attached to or websites linked in these emails - are opened/clicked.

I have downloaded and opened a file attached to a spam email, is my computer infected?

If the file was an executable (.exe, .run, etc.), most likely - yes. However, you might have avoided jumpstarting an infection chain if it was a document (.doc, .xls, .pdf, etc.). These formats can require additional actions (e.g., to enable macro commands - editing/content, etc.) to begin downloading/installing malware.

Will Combo Cleaner remove malware infections present in email attachments?

Yes, Combo Cleaner is capable of detecting and eliminating nearly all known malware infections. However, it must be emphasized that running a complete system scan is essential - since high-end malicious software typically hides deep within systems.

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