Skip to main content

The LinkedIn data breach from 2012 lives on...

The scam email (below) that I just received this morning is a great reason to use LastPass or any other reputable password safe so you can have a unique password for each and every account. I have somewhere around 800 different online accounts.

The person behind this email is trying to blackmail me. 

https://haveibeenpwned.com/ helped me locate which accounts associated with "tim@oey.us" username/email have had known hacks with the data sold.

"LinkedIn: In May 2016, LinkedIn had 164 million email addresses and passwords exposed. Originally hacked in 2012, the data remained out of sight until being offered for sale on a dark market site 4 years later. The passwords in the breach were stored as SHA1 hashes without salt, the vast majority of which were quickly cracked in the days following the release of the data." (information from https://haveibeenpwned.com/ )

See also: https://www.troyhunt.com/observations-and-thoughts-on-the-linkedin-data-breach/

Thanks to LastPass's password history I traced the old password they included in the subject line to one I used a long time ago with LinkedIn around 2012. Luckily I changed it shortly thereafter to a weird and unique one that LastPass generated.

Now all my passwords are 20-36+ in length and random characters including upper/lowercase, numbers, and special characters.

Stay safe out there. There are a lot of scammers. Please also practice safe-computing to keep your computer free of key loggers and other malware.

-Tim

P.S. Here are some other related articles on this latest porn scam:
https://krypt3ia.wordpress.com/2018/07/16/extortion-phish-your-password-is-xxxx/
https://www.techlicious.com/blog/is-the-porn-blackmail-scam-real/comments-/CP2/


---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Jules Denney
Date: Thu, Jul 19, 2018 at 6:01 AM
Subject: tim - xxxxOldPasswordxxxx
To: "tim@oey.us"


Lets get directly to the purpose. Nobody has compensated me to check you. You don't know me and you're most likely thinking why you are getting this mail?

In fact, I placed a software on the X videos (porno) site and guess what, you visited this site to have fun (you know what I mean). While you were viewing videos, your internet browser started working as a Remote Desktop with a key logger which provided me access to your screen and also web cam. Immediately after that, my software program collected your entire contacts from your Messenger, social networks, and e-mailaccount. Next I created a double video. 1st part displays the video you were viewing (you've got a good taste lmao), and next part displays the recording of your webcam, yeah it is you.

There are a pair of solutions. Shall we go through the choices in aspects:

1st choice is to dismiss this message. Consequently, I am going to send your video clip to almost all of your contacts and just consider about the disgrace you will get. Not to mention should you be in a romantic relationship, how it would affect?

Number two alternative should be to give me $3000. We will think of it as a donation. As a result, I most certainly will right away discard your video footage. You could continue your daily life like this never happened and you are never going to hear back again from me.

You'll make the payment through Bitcoin (if you do not know this, search for "how to buy bitcoin" in Google).

BTC Address to send to: 1FPnorw1FMy3sMfuJ3gF3A4BVNTMjU47G8
[case-sensitive so copy and paste it]

Should you are planning on going to the police, anyway, this mail can not be traced back to me. I have dealt with my steps. I am also not attempting to ask you for money a huge amount, I simply prefer to be compensated. You now have one day in order to make the payment. I have a special pixel in this mail, and right now I know that you have read through this email. If I do not get the BitCoins, I will definately send out your video recording to all of your contacts including members of your family, co-workers, etc. Nevertheless, if I do get paid, I will destroy the video immidiately. This is the non-negotiable offer and so do not waste my time & yours by replying to this e-mail. If you need evidence, reply Yes! & I will certainly send your video to your 8 friends.
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The best way to dispose of dog poop

Based on my research, the best way to handle dog poop is to use a reusable pooper scooper and flush the poop down a toilet . Pros: - Sewer systems are designed to handle poop (yours and your pet's) safely and effectively (this was verified by calling the local sewage treatment plant in Sunnyvale, California) - The poop is treated and recycled fairly quickly and safely back into the environment Cons: - Need to carry the poop to a toilet - Need to purchase or make a reusable pooper scooper Here are other alternatives generally listed from healthiest for environment to least healthy. Use a flushable poop bag and flush down a toilet. Pros: - Sewer systems are designed to handle poop - The poop is treated and recycled - Easy to carry bag around to pick up poop Cons: - Flushable bags can "melt" in rain or other very wet conditions - Flushable bags should be kept sealed in another plastic bag before use - Flushable bags are a bit expensive and hard to find - Flushable bags smell...
9 comments
Read more

No More Disposable Plastic!

Unfortunately the future is plastic because plastic lives just about forever and will be the death of much of our environment, and maybe us. If you have not already, please see Wall-E  for what our earth may eventually look like. We must do as much as possible to greatly reduce the use of plastic! Here is a seagoing bird that died from ingestion of plastic in the middle of the Pacific: From:  http://ecowatch.com/2013/05/28/california-plastic-pollution-policy-tangled-up-committee/ See also  http://www.nrdc.org/oceans/plastic-ocean/ and many other sources you can find by googling. And read the fantastic book  Plastic-Free: How I Kicked the Plastic Habit and How You Can Too . So my household is eliminating our need for plastic bags and other disposable plastic. No more hard copy newspaper with its plastic bag (see my separate post about my newspaper ). No more disposable plastic grocery bags (thank you for the local plastic bag ban -- now we must m...
12 comments
Read more

New Best Way to Handle Dog Poop

I've found an even better way to dispose of dog poop than the one I documented in 2008 at  http://ecopractice.blogspot.com/2008/03/best-way-to-dispose-of-dog-poop.html It works by using a funnel-like attachment on your sewer cleanout so you can drop the dog poop directly into your sewer line without necessarily using any water! Here is a picture of me doing this: This is neater and easier than putting the dog poop in a toilet to flush. Saves water too. The sewer cleanout accessory we use is the Doggie Doo Drain Dog Waste Sewer Line Attachment . The reusable device we now use to pick up poop on walks (instead of using a plastic bag) is  Nature's Miracle Jaw Scoop . It is easy to carry and holds the poop in the little bucket its jaws create. The medium size model can hold dozens of small poops or a couple of big poops from a big dog (we have little dogs). There is also a jumbo size if you need it. If the poop is solid and not sticky, no water is needed as the poop...
2 comments
Read more