'I RECORDED YOU!' Email Scam

The ‘I RECORDED YOU!’ tactic is not exactly a new or innovative con. The ‘I RECORDED YOU!’ email scam can be classified a ‘sextortion.’ Countless shady individuals online take part in sextortion tactics. Usually, the conmen claim that they have recorded video of the users while they were enjoying adult entertainment online. Then, they state that unless the users pay them cash, they will distribute the embarrassing content to all their friends, family, and colleagues. The con-artists behind the ‘I RECORDED YOU!’ tactic demand to be paid $1,200 via Bitcoin. A large portion of cyber crooks tends to prefer payments made via cryptocurrencies, as that helps them protect their identities and avoid negative consequences.

There is not a certain demographic that is targeted by the creators of the ‘I RECORDED YOU!’ tactic specifically – it would appear that all users are receiving these fraudulent emails. The emails would contain a fake message, which claims that the conmen have compromised their devices using a RAT (Remote Access Trojan) that got activated once it detected that they were browsing adult entertainment content. Then, they claim that the RAT they have planted on their devices has been used to record both video and audio, filming them while they were browsing the content in question. The con-artists also state that they have obtained their contact lists from their social media and address book, and the recorded video will be sent to all the users on the list. The conmen give users a deadline of three days to pay up unless they want the embarrassing content to be sent to their contacts.

Luckily, none of the claims of the conmen are true. They do not have a video of you in any compromising situation certainly. This tactic is nothing more than a bluff. However, there are still users who may fall for it because of the social engineering tricks utilized by the authors of this email scheme.