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I received an email, from my own account. It showed up in my junk mail. It said it was a hacker who is going to lock down my computer in 48 hours if I don't send $900 to his Bitcoin account. He said it was Ransomware. Should I be concerned, or could this just be someone who got my email address and is pulling a scam?
Help!
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If you opened it to read it, you may have released a virus into your computer.
Volson is meh, but I like him, and he has far exceeded my expectations
-Frank Booth 1/9/23
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(11-08-2018, 05:11 PM)SunsetBengal Wrote: If you opened it to read it, you may have released a virus into your computer.
I did open it and read it. I just downloaded a program called SpyHunter which is supposed to find that type of Malware, and it scanned my computer for over an hour and found nothing. I guess I'll find out Saturday around 11:00 since that will be about 48 hours.
However, I like Harley's answer better.
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Just send me half of the money and you will be fine. If not, I’m sure you will be fine as well. May want to change some passwords though.
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(11-08-2018, 04:33 PM)Tiger Teeth Wrote: I received an email, from my own account. It showed up in my junk mail. It said it was a hacker who is going to lock down my computer in 48 hours if I don't send $900 to his Bitcoin account. He said it was Ransomware. Should I be concerned, or could this just be someone who got my email address and is pulling a scam?
Help!
come on dude its old tired scam...
Don't fall for it.. But if you do I'm also a prince in Africa and there is a large amount of money left to you but I need your bank info to transfer you the funds.
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(11-09-2018, 10:59 AM)XenoMorph Wrote: come on dude its old tired scam...
Don't fall for it.. But if you do I'm also a prince in Africa and there is a large amount of money left to you but I need your bank info to transfer you the funds.
Thanks. I guess.
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(11-09-2018, 11:04 AM)Tiger Teeth Wrote: Thanks. I guess.
He's right. It's just a random email scam. I have a gentleman's email who just retired forwarded to me at work. He gets the same email about once a week. Says they know his password and have access to all his contacts, yadda, yadda yadda. The biggest fear tactic they try to use is telling you that they know you watch porn and will release all these porn sites to your contacts letting them know what type of person you are if you don't pay. Now, for someone that does watch porn and leads an important life to society, might be a little nervous about such an email and pay. However, think about this for a minute.
They say if you pay, they will delete your information and give you back control of your computer. The real problem would be if you were one of the .001% of people who actually got spooked and paid because now your real issues begin. So don't even worry about the email. I would actually delete it and block the address so you receive nothing further and risk opening something which causes damage.
And stop watching porn!
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(11-09-2018, 12:49 PM)HarleyDog Wrote: He's right. It's just a random email scam. I have a gentleman's email who just retired forwarded to me at work. He gets the same email about once a week. Says they know his password and have access to all his contacts, yadda, yadda yadda. The biggest fear tactic they try to use is telling you that they know you watch porn and will release all these porn sites to your contacts letting them know what type of person you are if you don't pay. Now, for someone that does watch porn and leads an important life to society, might be a little nervous about such an email and pay. However, think about this for a minute.
They say if you pay, they will delete your information and give you back control of your computer. The real problem would be if you were one of the .001% of people who actually got spooked and paid because now your real issues begin. So don't even worry about the email. I would actually delete it and block the address so you receive nothing further and risk opening something which causes damage.
And stop watching porn!
Thanks Harley. You guys have eased my mind. And who watches porn anyway?
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(11-09-2018, 01:07 PM)Tiger Teeth Wrote: Thanks Harley. You guys have eased my mind. And who watches porn anyway?
You do. But if you send me $900, I will delete this post.
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(11-09-2018, 01:19 PM)HarleyDog Wrote: You do. But if you send me $900, I will delete this post.
Okay, PM me your bank account information and I'll get that right out to you.
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lol just think of it this way... If the dude/chick/whatever they identify as... was a real hacker they wouldn't ask for your money they would just take it.
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(11-09-2018, 04:50 PM)XenoMorph Wrote: lol just think of it this way... If the dude/chick/whatever they identify as... was a real hacker they wouldn't ask for your money they would just take it.
Good point. I feel like a computer idiot. lol
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Well the 48 hour "deadline" has came and went, and I'm not locked out of my computer. You guys were right.
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(11-09-2018, 04:50 PM)XenoMorph Wrote: lol just think of it this way... If the dude/chick/whatever they identify as... was a real hacker they wouldn't ask for your money they would just take it.
Exactly.
My parents call me sometimes with concerns like this. And as a victim of identity theft (twice!) I can tell you, if someone gonna steal yo stuff, they don't extort money. They just do it.
FYI, close out any accounts with best buy. Theyre as secure as giving all you personal info to a third grader with ADHD.
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Side note, you don't get viruses from just opening emails. Unless you open an attachment or follow a link you are safe. Don't get too caught up on where emails say they are sent from. The reality is anyone can spoof a from email address using a relay server so that is very misleading. People who take over accounts don't threaten they do it then they monetize it. If someone is contacting you it means they already have your shit, if that's not the case move along.
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