Xvideos.com Extortion Scam

PC security researchers received reports of an extortion tactic associated with the website xvideos.com, a site specialized in pornographic video content. The Xvideos.com Extortion Scam, commonly known as sextorsion, attempts to take advantage of computer users' guilt over visiting pornographic material to extort them so that they will pay large amounts of money. The Xvideos.com Extortion Scam consists of using emails that use social engineering to trick the computer users into paying a ransom. These emails use data from the victim's computer to trick the victim into believing that the criminals are capable of ruining their lives or shaming them publicly.

The Xvideos.com Extortion Scam Relies on Gullible PC Users

Most victims of the Xvideos.com Extortion Scam are located in North America. Generally, the Xvideos.com Extortion Scam arrives at the victim's computer via an email sent from a randomly named email address, commonly using temporary email addresses set up on public email services. The Xvideos.com Extortion Scam has been effective in extorting the computer users, allowing the criminals to gather 3,500 USD approximately at the type of writing. One of the reasons why the criminals continue to engage in hoaxes like the Xvideos.com Extortion Scam is that they are very easy and cheap to set up, and low-risk for the criminals carrying out the attack.

How the Xvideos.com Extortion Scam Works

The criminals take advantage of the popularity of xvideos.com and computer users' relative ignorance when it comes to spyware and malware. If the computer users visit their website frequently, they will receive a spam message that claims that their computers were compromised during the attack. The Xvideos.com Extortion Scam claims that the victim was recorded on video watching pornography and claims that it will forward this video content to the victim's online contacts and social media friends. The following is an example of the texts that threats like the Xvideos.com Extortion Scam will use to extort the computer users:

'xxx is your pass. Let's get straight to purpose. Neither anyone has paid me to check about you. You do not know me and you are most likely wondering why you are getting this e-mail?
Well, i setup a software on the [random name] video clips (porn material) web site and you know what, you visited this site to have fun (you know what i mean). When you were watching videos, your browser began functioning as a RDP with a key logger which gave me access to your display and also web camera.
after that, my software program gathered all your contacts from your Messenger, FB, as well as emailaccount. Next i made a double-screen video. 1st part displays the video you were viewing (you've got a good taste lol . . .), and 2nd part shows the recording of your web camera, yeah its you.'

The Xvideos.com Extortion Scam content usually makes no sense, and the criminals do not have this information. However, computer users must be careful when handling any Xvideos.com Extortion Scam emails that may contain images or links, since these may result in the installation of actual malware onto the victim's computer.

Dealing with the Xvideos.com Extortion Scam

Malware experts advise PC users to refrain from paying the amount that the criminals demand as part of this hoax. They should ignore the email message associated with the Xvideos.com Extortion Scam and add the email address used to their email's blacklist. More importantly, malware researchers advise running a scan with an anti-virus application to ensure that no actual malware or suspicious content has managed to make it into their computers and possibly have increased exposure to threats like the Xvideos.com Extortion Scam and other online tactics commonly in use today.