Scams going around · Emails
"I hacked your computer" blackmail email
Pretends to be a hacker who says they took over your computer and webcam. An email says a hacker put spyware (software that secretly watches you) on your computer. It says your webcam recorded you visiting adult websites. It threatens to send the video to your family and friends unless you pay in Bitcoin, a kind of digital money. It may show one of your real passwords as "proof." The FTC says you may get one because your email address was exposed in a data breach (when a company loses its customers' details).
An example of what it can look like
Not a real message: the details are made up.
Unknown sender <x7k2@mailbox-secure.example>
Your password is Sunflower1952. I had spyware infect your computer, and it recorded you through your webcam while you visited adult websites. You have 48 hours to pay me in Bitcoin. Wallet: bc1q-example-0000. If you don't pay, the video goes to all your contacts, family and friends. Do not reply to this email.
How to tell
- It may show one of your real passwords, old or recent, to make the threat seem real.
- It says spyware (software that secretly watches you) or your webcam recorded you visiting adult websites. The FTC says claims like this are "all talk."
- It threatens to send a video to your family, friends or contacts unless you pay.
- It gives you a short deadline to pay, often 48 hours.
- It wants payment in Bitcoin or another cryptocurrency (a kind of digital money).
What to do
- Don't pay anything and don't reply. Don't open any link or attachment in it.
- Change the password it shows on every account where you still use it. Give each account its own password that you don't use anywhere else.
- Turn on two-step sign-in (a code as well as your password) on each account where you changed that password.
- Report it, then delete the message.
- If it upset you, talk it over with someone you trust.
If you already tapped, paid, called or replied
- If you paid in cryptocurrency (digital money like Bitcoin), contact the exchange or crypto ATM company right away. An exchange is the company or app you used to buy or send it. Tell them it was a fraudulent transaction and ask them to reverse it.
- Don't send more money, even if they ask again.
- Report it to the FBI at www.ic3.gov and to the FTC at ReportFraud.ftc.gov. Include the email and the Bitcoin address (the code they told you to pay to) if you have them.
- Check your bank statements for anything unusual.
- If you think someone got into your computer, update your security software (a program that finds harmful software). If you don't have any, get some. Use it to check your computer, remove anything it finds, and change your passwords.
How to check for real
There is no real company behind this email to check with. If you are worried about one of your accounts, type its web address into your browser yourself, sign in, and change your password there.
Where to report it
- ReportFraud.ftc.gov, the Federal Trade Commission's reporting site
- The FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center at www.ic3.gov. Include the email and the Bitcoin address (the code they told you to pay to) if you have them.
- Your local FBI field office, listed at www.fbi.gov/contact-us/field-offices
Free guides that go with this
Check a message you got, free · Check a link
Where this comes from
Written from these official warnings, checked 2026-09-25. Lantern is not part of any organization named on this page.