What are the red flags of this scam?

An old or current password appears in the email — this comes from data breach databases, not from hacking your device • The email demands payment in Bitcoin, Monero, or another cryptocurrency — any form of payment demand in this context is a scam • A photo of your home address or a Google Street View image may appear to increase panic — this is public information, not evidence of hacking • The email claims Pegasus spyware or similar malware was installed — this is a lie; scammers do not individually target recipients • A 24–48 hour deadline is designed to pressure you into paying before you think or seek help • The email arrives in bulk to thousands of people simultaneously using automated mail-merge scripts

What should I do if this happened to me?

Do not pay anything — this is a mass-produced bluff and paying marks you as a target for further extortion • Do not respond to the email — responding confirms your address is active and may increase contact • Change the password mentioned in the email immediately, and on any account where you reused it • Enable two-factor authentication on all important accounts — this prevents future misuse of any exposed credentials • If you receive an email with an AI-generated intimate image of yourself, document it and report it to local law enforcement and the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) at 1-800-843-5678 • Report to the FTC at https://reportfraud.ftc.gov and the FBI's IC3 at https://www.ic3.gov.

HIGH other Last reported: Oct 16, 2026 Share

Email claims your webcam recorded you on an adult site and threatens to send the footage to your contacts

Q: Is this a scam?

Yes. This is a documented scam pattern. An email claims the sender recorded you visiting an adult website through your webcam and will share the video with your contacts unless you pay Bitcoin within 48 hours. The included real password is from a data breach, not evidence of any recording.

An email claims the sender recorded you visiting an adult website through your webcam and will share the video with your contacts unless you pay Bitcoin within 48 hours. The included real password is from a data breach, not evidence of any recording.

Also known as: hello pervert email scam, sextortion Bitcoin email, I recorded you email scam, webcam blackmail email, Bitcoin blackmail email

Already happened to you? Do this in the next few minutes

1 Call your bank or card's fraud line right now. Use the number on the back of your card — not any number from the message or caller. Ask them to stop or reverse the payment and freeze the account.
2 If you paid by gift card, wire, or an app (Zelle, Venmo, Cash App): contact that company immediately and report it as fraud. Acting fast sometimes recovers the money.
3 Report to the FBI at ic3.gov and the FTC at reportfraud.ftc.gov. The sooner, the better.

What to do right now

1 Do not pay anything — this is a mass-produced bluff and paying marks you as a target for further extortion
2 Do not respond to the email — responding confirms your address is active and may increase contact
3 Change the password mentioned in the email immediately, and on any account where you reused it
4 Enable two-factor authentication on all important accounts — this prevents future misuse of any exposed credentials
5 If you receive an email with an AI-generated intimate image of yourself, document it and report it to local law enforcement and the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) at 1-800-843-5678
6 Report to the FTC at https://reportfraud.ftc.gov and the FBI's IC3 at https://www.ic3.gov.

Red flags

⚠ An old or current password appears in the email — this comes from data breach databases, not from hacking your device
⚠ The email demands payment in Bitcoin, Monero, or another cryptocurrency — any form of payment demand in this context is a scam
⚠ A photo of your home address or a Google Street View image may appear to increase panic — this is public information, not evidence of hacking
⚠ The email claims Pegasus spyware or similar malware was installed — this is a lie; scammers do not individually target recipients
⚠ A 24–48 hour deadline is designed to pressure you into paying before you think or seek help
⚠ The email arrives in bulk to thousands of people simultaneously using automated mail-merge scripts

Known variants

Deepfake AI sextortion — attackers scrape public photos and use nudify tools to generate fake intimate images, then extort victims. FTC Oct 2026: AI-generated explicit images of minors are a federal crime; report at TakeItDown.ftc.gov or NCMEC 1-800-843-5678.

Last seen: 10/7/2026
Account takeover NCII theft — hackers use breached passwords or phishing to access social media and steal intimate images, then sell or extort with them. Under the Take It Down Act (May 2026), platforms must remove NCII within 48 hours; report non-compliance to the FTC at TakeItDown.ftc.gov.

Last seen: 10/7/2026
Fake sextortion relief company appears in paid search ads and charges $1,499–$20,000 to identify the attacker and stop the blackmail. It delivers fabricated chat transcripts and fake GPS coordinates as 'evidence.' FTC shut down Digital Forensics Corp (DFC) for $60M in losses in Oct 2026.

Last seen: 10/16/2026
Scammers use ShinyHunters breach data (Amtrak, ADT, Betterment, Panera Bread) to personalize sextortion emails with victims' real passwords. Emails pose as ShinyHunters and demand $2,000 Bitcoin in 48 hours. The password comes from the breach, not from hacking the victim's device. (BleepingComputer, Jul 2026)

Last seen: 8/17/2026

Already happened to you? Do this in the next few minutes

What to do right now

Red flags

Known variants

Sources