SECURITY
SECURITY
SECURITY
New CIA-themed ‘sextortion’ scam uses SatoshiBox to extract payments
A newly discovered scam is using the services of an otherwise legitimate third-party provider to collect ransom payments.
Detailed Thursday by security researchers at Trustwave Inc., the latest variation of a so-called law enforcement sextortion scam has those behind it claiming to be contacting the victim on behalf of the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency.
Sextortion scams involve blackmailing a person into making a payment to stop alleged pornographic or child porn material discovered on a victim’s computer from being released publicly or from being turned over to law enforcement. Typical variants in the past included hackers claiming to be contacting victims on behalf of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
In the new variant, the alleged CIA emails share the same similarities as previous scams: illegal activity and a demand that the recipient must make a payment.
But where this one varies is that the victim is provided with “proof” of the claim as well. The attachment, in this case, is a .zip file that when opened takes the victim to a page on SatoshiBox where the victim is then asked to make a payment to see the proof. SatoshiBox, offline currently, is a digital marketplace where sellers can sell digital assets in return for bitcoin that also includes support for buying bitcoin as well.
Where the demands are somewhat confusing is that the original email demands a payment of $5,000, whereas the SatoshiBox file is listed as $500.
“It seems that the scammers behind this campaign are eager to victimize more people as they are trying to make the emails scarier and the payment of the ransom easier,” the researchers note.
SatoshiBox may not be the only service being used in these new sextortion scams. The researchers noted there are other websites that offer hosting and selling files for bitcoin that could be used in future campaigns.
“Thus, BEWARE! Do not fall for this trick,” they warned. “Ignore these kinds of emails and treat any such redirects to these kinds of bitcoin platforms as suspicious.”
Image: Trustwave
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