Solved Threatening Expose Email

AndreTen · Apr 10, 2022

Wynona said:
So far, I can't find a View Source, even when I marked it as not junk. It's back in the Junk folder.

In Outlook (Office 365) you have to open email, go to file, and at the bottom click on Properties. You can find some details there

cereberus · Apr 10, 2022

Wynona said:
I got an email threatening exposure if I don't pay. I know beyond a doubt it's a scam, but it's serious enough that I want to send it to the FBI.

And therein lies the problem . . . I'm not sure if an email address I find on the Internet will actually be legitimate!

The email claims it has a video of me in a compromising position (spelled out so I know it's impossible for a woman) and that he will turn it loose if I don't pay $1424.00 USD in bit coin within two days. A very strange amount to say the least.

He also says it will disappear if I try to send it to anyone else! Ha! Maybe it will and maybe it won't.

Mainly, as I said, I want to send it to the FBI because it's what's recommended by the Arkansas Attorney General's office. And no, I can't find any way to send it to the AG either.

Anyone know what I should do before I delete it?

Just delete it - the enforcement agents will do diddly squat, as most of these originate from more dubious parts of the world.

I got one of these every so often, and I am tempted to ask for a copy at my age to be put on youtube, so I could show it to my friends and get lots of high fives (and maybe more wink wink) LOL

Winuser · Apr 10, 2022

Wynona said:
Nope! Not gonna click on anything in that email! Except to send it to wherever it needs to be reported.

Never reply to these idiots. I received three or four of these emails a little over a year ago. I just deleted them. I figured they were probably from a foreign country, and nothing was going to happen to them.

CornishRattler · Apr 10, 2022

Winuser said:
Never reply to these idiots. I received three or four of these emails a little over a year ago. I just deleted them. I figured they were probably from a foreign country, and nothing was going to happen to them.

For the sake of clarity, my earlier reply was in jest.
So yeah just delete them, the FBI dept that is suppose to deal with these or the equivalent UK dept, the NCSC, won’t bother with them tbh

Edwin · Apr 10, 2022

Yeah..., maybe just create a filter, then delete it!

Before you do that though, can you post a screeny of the email, without incriminating info?
I could use a good laugh!

Better yet, forward it to me! I'll mess with the dude!!!

WXC · Apr 10, 2022

@Wynona

If you want to report it, I suggest you contact your local law enforcement agency, be it city police or county Sheriff's dept..

Explain your situation and ask for a contact number for your closest FBI field office.

Best regards.

Haydon · Apr 10, 2022

If it is a one time occurrence, I would delete and forget about it.

If it happens again and again, you may want to report it to the FTC, the link below has instructions including an email address to forward the email to

How to Recognize and Avoid Phishing Scams

Scammers use email or text messages to trick you into giving them your personal and financial information. But there are several ways to protect yourself.

consumer.ftc.gov

Winuser · Apr 10, 2022

WXC said:
@Wynona

If you want to report it, I suggest you contact your local law enforcement agency, be it city police or county Sheriff's dept..

Explain your situation and ask for a contact number for your closest FBI field office.

Best regards.

I think the most that will happen is that the complaint will go into File 13 (Round File).

mackie · Apr 10, 2022

Here's another one, sorta similar demanding bitcoin, from the FTC consumer dept.

Scam emails demand Bitcoin, threaten blackmail

The FTC uses the information it gets from people who report scams to keep close watch on trends, so we can alert you to changes.

consumer.ftc.gov

TeckyMike · Apr 10, 2022

Just the fact they have your email should be a concern. Can you read the text information and maybe see a source?

WXC · Apr 10, 2022

Winuser said:
I think the most that will happen is that the complaint will go into File 13 (Round File).

Hi, Winuser.

Yep, I agree with you, personally.

Just offering an alternative route for Wynona, if she wants to give it a shot. :wink:

fractal pumpkin · Apr 10, 2022

Wynona said:
Anyone know what I should do before I delete it?

Mark it as "spam" in your email software. Do not be concerned.

Winuser · Apr 10, 2022

WXC said:
Hi, Winuser.

Yep, I agree with you, personally.

Just offering an alternative route for Wynona, if she wants to give it a shot.

I agree that scam emails should be reported. The problem is that they are small scale and usually sent from another country.

TeckyMike · Apr 10, 2022

Keep in mind that even just opening an email can allow a script to run. Before opening it just mouse over the sender to see the information of the sender and if you don't recognize it delete it and clean your trash bin

AndreTen · Apr 10, 2022

TeckyMike said:
Keep in mind that even just opening an email can allow a script to run. Before opening it just mouse over the sender to see the information of the sender and if you don't recognize it delete it and clean your trash bin

Always set you emial client to show only text information... And scripts aren't allowed to run for years now..

Still there are some methods sender can check if the was opened, so this is still valid info.

GCG1000 · Apr 10, 2022

Wynona said:
So far, I can't find a View Source, even when I marked it as not junk. It's back in the Junk folder.

Hi, checkout: On the Internet | Federal Bureau of Investigation

Wynona · Apr 10, 2022

ThrashZone said:
Hi,
Office it's been a while maybe open the email and right click in the body for view source

Urgh! View Source is greyed out! Sheesh!

Wynona · Apr 10, 2022

I want to say a huge THANK YOU to everyone who has tried to help me with this pretty much unsolvable problem.

No matter where I've looked for a reporting solution nothing has turned up, so I'm just going to mark this thread solved and securely delete the email.

As I said earlier, this one's directed toward a male and I'm not a male! Further, this is a desktop and doesn't have a webcam. I rarely use my laptop, and when I do it's mostly for testing backups.

Oh, yeah, and I've never, ever, visited any porn sites!

The email address they used is rarely used for much of anything, so I can keep an eye on it. If I see more SPAM, I will just obsolete that email addy.

And finally, someone told me to go to the local police station and report it. I think I may do that; I can take my lappy and and show them the email. Then the ball will be in their court . . .

Thanks again, everyone, for your help and support.

Haydon · Apr 10, 2022

Wynona said:
pretty much unsolvable problem.

Don't do any DIY

There are billions of spam emails sent every day and without email filtering (done by governments in conjunction with email service providers) your inbox would be 99.99% spam emails. Instead, you receive only a few % spam emails. That's very good, only a few spam emails slip through, and reporting/forwarding those few would not help much, the authorities already know and they are always adjusting/improving the email filters depending on what the spammers do.

It is a different matter if you receive a flurry of spam emails. That would indicate a leak in the email filters, such as a new employee of a small email service provider implementing the government instructions not quite accurately, for example. In case of a flurry of spam emails, it does make sense to report/forward the spam emails, as it may very well help stop the leak.

Let the authorities handle spam email, they have tools you don't have. Just delete any isolated spam emails and forget about it. You may want to report/forward a flurry of spam emails to the authorities. The responsible authority in the U.S. is the FTC.

Edit: Don't worry about the severity of the content of the spam email, it could threaten to kill you or a loved one or blow up your house or whatever evil human imagination can come up with, it can be upsetting but it is not terribly relevant (Without specifics, I even doubt that your local police would take it seriously, it's more like a bar fight where all the drunks involved in the fight utter death threats LOL)

Also don't worry about your email address being out in the open. If you have had the email address for a long time, it is more likely than not that your email address (along with billions of other email addresses) had been out in the open for a long time also and nothing bad happened to you (not advocating imprudence, though)