Email Extortion Scam - Hacked Account

An email claiming that the recipient's email account has been hacked, that they viewed pornography, and demanding payment (often via crypto-currency like Bitcoin) to keep this from becoming public. 

We have seen that in some instances the account has actually been compromised.  However, the scammer does not have any "evidence" of what the recipient has been "viewing".

• There are numerous reports of this scam on the web. Copy a sentence from the extortion email and Google it, and you likely will see numerous articles describing the scam.  E.g. https://www.bitcoinabuse.com/reports/1EDYVPNb8MRGFRce5FgPS373b6wJBFRCn5

1. Report it as a phishing message: http://www.buffalo.edu/ubit/service-guides/safe-computing/report-phishing-attempt.html
2. Change any passwords on accounts that were involved in the scam

1. Change any passwords on accounts that were involved in the scam
2. Contact any financial institutions involved
3. Make a report to your local law enforcement.  If you are a member of the University at Buffalo, please contact University Police