In recent weeks, there has been a rise in cases of a new form of SEXTORTION attacks, where fraudsters use victims’ personal information to intimidate them with accusations of treason. These attackers send letters alleging that they have hacked the devices of spouses and acquired evidence of betrayal, offering victims a link to view the supposed “evidence”. The new scheme is predominantly targeting families, causing alarm among many who have received such messages.
SEXTORTION is a type of fraud where scammers claim to possess compromising materials about the victim and demand ransom money, threatening to expose the data. Previously, these attacks involved fake intimate videos and images that scammers allegedly obtained through hacking. Criminals would demand anywhere from $500 to $5,000 in exchange for remaining silent.
Despite the seemingly implausible nature of these schemes, fraudsters managed to make over $50,000 in just one week during the initial months of their distribution in 2018. Since then, scammers have come up with various versions of such schemes, including threats of violence, false bomb warnings, claims of CIA investigations, and even threats to install ransomware.
Reports of this new form of extortion started emerging approximately three weeks ago on different online platforms. Reddit users shared their experiences, stating that they received letters accusing them of betraying their spouses. One user disclosed, “I received a letter addressed to my partner claiming they had evidence of my infidelity. They even mentioned my last name, which I rarely use online.” Recipients noted that the letters were sent from various domains like 3bigs[.]com and Savkar[.]AI, with subjects such as “Hello, [name], see this report.”
The letters declare that the attackers hacked the spouses’ devices and gathered data to prove the betrayal. Recipients’ full names, including uncommonly used names like maiden names, second surnames, or pet nicknames, were mentioned in the letters, leading to heightened concerns among the victims. Some Reddit users speculated that scammers might have obtained this information from specialized websites like The Knot, where individuals commonly disclose personal details.