Avoid getting scammed by fake "I've Got Access To Your Smartphone" emails

What kind of email is "I've Got Access To Your Smartphone"?

After reading the "I've Got Access To Your Smartphone" email, we determined that it is spam promoting a sextortion scam. Spam mail of this kind aims to trick recipients into transferring money to scammers by claiming that a sexually explicit video featuring them was recorded through their devices. Supposedly, the footage will be leaked unless the senders are paid.

It must be emphasized that all the information in the "I've Got Access To Your Smartphone" email is false – hence, it poses no threat to the recipients.

"I've Got Access To Your Smartphone" email scam overview

This spam email states that the sender has infected the recipient's smartphone with malware. The nonexistent infection originated from malicious websites linked on adult-oriented photos that the user had been viewing.

The malicious software was used to record the recipient while they were viewing pornographic content. The footage was used to compile a split-screen video, where one half shows the recipient and the other – the content they were watching.

Additionally, the sender claims to have gained access to the phone's contacts, emails, and social media accounts. The user is instructed to send 1000 USD worth of Bitcoin cryptocurrency to the provided cryptowallet address within six hours. If the recipient fails to comply, the imaginary video will be sent to their contacts, friends, and followers.

As mentioned in the introduction, the claims made by this email are false. That means that the sender has not infected any of the recipient's devices, nor have they obtained any sensitive information or made compromising recordings. Hence, all the threats made by "I've Got Access To Your Smartphone" are empty.

Victims of sextortion emails experience financial loss. Furthermore, due to the practically untraceable nature of cryptocurrency transactions – they cannot be reversed.

Threat Summary:

Name	"I've Got Access To Your Smartphone" sextortion scam
Threat Type	Phishing, Scam, Social Engineering, Fraud
Fake Claim	Email sender infected the recipient's smartphone and used it to record a sexually explicit video; if they are not paid – the recording will be leaked.
Cyber Criminal Cryptowallet Address	1D9eR99TD5EzQ3tnzsHofvHsBnWCWSxK7w (Bitcoin)
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.

Sextortion spam campaign examples

"Is Visiting A More Convenient Way To Reach", "Malware On Porn Website", and "You Are One Of A Kind" are just a couple of our newest articles on sextortion emails.

Various scams are promoted through spam mail; they can aim to deceive recipients into sending money to scammers, disclosing sensitive information (e.g., log-in credentials, personally identifiable details, finance-related data, etc.), or infecting their devices with actual malware.

Spam emails are notorious for being poorly written and riddled with grammatical/spelling errors, but they can be confidently crafted and even believably disguised as messages from genuine entities (e.g., companies, organizations, service providers, authorities, etc.).

How do spam campaigns infect computers?

Cyber criminals commonly use spam campaigns to proliferate malware. These emails/messages can have infectious files attached to or linked inside them. Malicious files can be documents (Microsoft Office, Microsoft OneNote, PDF, etc.), archives (ZIP, RAR, etc.), executables (.exe, .run, etc.), JavaScript, and so on.

Merely opening such a file can be enough to trigger malware download/installation. However, some formats need additional user interaction to initiate system infection processes. For example, Microsoft Office files require users to enable macro commands (i.e., editing/content), while OneNote documents need them to click on embedded files or links.

How to avoid installation of malware?

Caution is key to device/user safety. Therefore, be vigilant with incoming emails, DMs/PMs, SMSes, and other messages. Do not open attachments or links found in dubious/irrelevant mail, as they can be harmful or virulent.

However, malware is not spread exclusively through spam mail. Hence, be careful while browsing since the Internet is rife with well-disguised fake and dangerous content.

Furthermore, download only from official and verified sources. Activate and update software using functions/tools provided by legitimate developers, as illegal product activation ("cracking") tools and third-party updates may contain malware.

It is essential to have a dependable anti-virus installed and kept updated. Security programs must be used to perform regular system scans and to remove threats and issues. 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 "I've Got Access To Your Smartphone" spam email letter:

Hey, so you're the new face around here, huh?

I'm not messing around, buddy. You need to read this email carefully. Take a moment, collect yourself, and absorb the information. We're discussing our agreement, and I need you to be on the same page.

ready? and now knock it into your stupid head and remember.

Wake the hell up, you imbecile! You've been a bit careless lately, scrolling through those photos of girls and clicking on links, stumbling upon some not-so-safe sites. Let's talk about safety, shall we? Or rather, the lack thereof.

Here's the lowdown: now I've got access to your smartphone, and I've seen it all. Yeah, Yeah, I've got footage of you jerking off in the bathroom, in your room (nice setup, by the way)

Because you've been screwing around on those seedy sites, I've managed to snatch up some juicy intel about your device, giving me full-blown control over it. I can spy on everything happening on your screen, flip on your camera and mic, and you wouldn't know a damn thing. Oh, and I've got access to all your emails, contacts, and social media accounts too.

 

Been keeping tabs on your pathetic existence for a while now. Extracted quite a bit of juicy info from your system. Got videos and screenshots where on one side of the screen, there's whatever you're watching, and on the other, your blissful face. With just a click, I can send this filth to every single one of your contacts.

You ain't got a clue about this, and it never even crossed your mind. My moves are slick, and the embedded code keeps refreshing every 30 minutes, so your antivirus software remains none the wiser.

I feel your worry and confusion.That video was straight up blunt, and I can't even wrap my head around the humiliation you'll face when your crew, your buddies, and your kin peep it out. But you know what? It's life, bro.

Let's put our heads together, figure out how to fix this mess.

I could wipe the slate clean and forget you ever existed, but I'm gonna need some motivation to make it happen. How about dropping a grand into my bitcoin wallet? $1000 bro!

 

At this bitcoin address: 1D9eR99TD5EzQ3tnzsHofvHsBnWCWSxK7w

Once you pay up, you'll sleep like a baby. I keep my word.

Pay attention, I'm telling you straight: 'We gotta make a deal'. I want you to know I'm coming at you with good intentions. I'll keep my end of the bargain and wipe everything clean once you come through with the payment. My program will sniff out that Bitcoin payment and erase all the dirt I got on you. Don't waste your time replying to this, it's useless. The email and wallet are made just for you, untraceable. I don't mess up, buddy.

And trust me, I've been thinking about my own privacy and safety. If I catch a whiff that you've shared this message with anyone else (like if it shows up on some other device), that video's going straight to all your contacts.

 

And don't even think about trying to switch off your phone or reset it to factory settings. It's futile. Everything you need is in my hands, under my control.

You got 5-6 hours to get it sorted. I'm giving you plenty of time to think it over and do what's right by our agreement. I'm expecting that payment.

Don't take it personally. Think of it as a little life advice and be more vigilant in the future.

Honestly, those online tips about covering your camera aren't as useless as they seem.

Good luck with that. Farewell.

Appearance of the "I've Got Access To Your Smartphone" spam email (GIF):

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Quick menu:

• What is "I've Got Access To Your Smartphone" sextortion scam?
• 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?

Even if spam emails include information relevant to the recipients, they are not personal. Any such details are most commonly acquired through publicly available sources or phishing scams. Cyber criminals send out these emails in massive operations – therefore, thousands of users receive identical (or incredibly similar) messages.

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

No, the claims made by sextortion scam emails are always false. Therefore, none of your devices were infected by the sender, nor do they have any of your private information (including explicit recordings).

How did cyber criminals get my email password?

Scammers use compromised email accounts to send messages to their owners in order to make their claims seem more believable. In most cases, the accounts are exposed and stolen via phishing scams. Possible but unlikely scenarios for obtaining emails are data breaches on the recipient's or a service provider's end.

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

No, cryptocurrency transactions are irreversible because of their nearly untraceable nature. Therefore, victims of scams like "I've Got Access To Your Smartphone" cannot get their money back.

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

If you have provided your log-in credentials – immediately change the passwords of all potentially exposed accounts and inform their official support. And if the disclosed information was of a different personal nature (e.g., ID card details, passport photos/scans, credit/debit card numbers, etc.) – contact the appropriate authorities without delay.

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

No, opening/reading an email is harmless. Devices are infected when malicious attachments or links are opened/clicked.

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

File formats can impact infection success rates. Executables (.exe, .run, etc.) cause infections almost without fail upon being opened. However, some other formats – like documents (.doc, .xls, .one, etc.) – might require additional actions to initiate malware download/installation. Hence, the infection may only be triggered after macro commands are enabled, embedded content is clicked, or other actions are performed.

Will Combo Cleaner remove malware infections present in email attachments?

Yes, Combo Cleaner is designed to scan systems and eliminate all kinds of threats. It can detect and remove almost all known malware infections. Keep in mind that performing a full system scan is crucial since sophisticated malicious programs tend to hide deep within systems.

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