The ‘bad actors’ of the internet world are hacking into various WordPress and Blogger sites and creating new posts that state that the computer of the blogger is hacked and the visitors were recorded while using adult web sites.
These types of threats are called sextortion and are sent to harass the victims to pay a ransom if they do not want their private video to be released. On most occasions, these threats are sent via emails. However, the scammers are being innovative and using the popular content management system of WordPress and Google's Blogger for the purpose.
Lawrence Abrams from BC also noticed that attackers have generated approximately 12 bitcoins – worth around $110,000 through their illicit attempts.
As of now, not much is clear regarding the hacker group and their ways of operation. However, one thing is certain – sextortion is a profitable way to generate revenue, without any added overheads and we can expect more such frauds to erupt in the future.
Photo Credit: Getty
Read next: A new Research shows How users PCs are being used for Generating Thousands of Sextortion Emails per hour!
These types of threats are called sextortion and are sent to harass the victims to pay a ransom if they do not want their private video to be released. On most occasions, these threats are sent via emails. However, the scammers are being innovative and using the popular content management system of WordPress and Google's Blogger for the purpose.
Sextortion – a profitable industry
According to BleepingComputer (BC), hackers make use of a blog account and create a post from the same account adds more legitimacy to the whole scamming event. Unfortunately, users are also falling in the trap and paying the demands asked by the scammer. In fact, a simple Google search showed that more than 1,000 Blogger and over 150 WordPress accounts were compromised recently.Lawrence Abrams from BC also noticed that attackers have generated approximately 12 bitcoins – worth around $110,000 through their illicit attempts.
As of now, not much is clear regarding the hacker group and their ways of operation. However, one thing is certain – sextortion is a profitable way to generate revenue, without any added overheads and we can expect more such frauds to erupt in the future.
Photo Credit: Getty
Read next: A new Research shows How users PCs are being used for Generating Thousands of Sextortion Emails per hour!
