My domain provider shared with me that this was going around. - Nicole

The “I am sorry to inform you but your device was hacked” email is a scam that tries to trick you into thinking that your computer or phone is infected with malware and then threatens to make your personal data public. Contrary to the claims in the email, you haven’t been hacked (or at least, that’s not what prompted this email) and this is nothing more than a scam that tries to trick you into sending Bitcoins to these scammers. This is merely a new variation on an old scam which is popularly being called “sextortion”.

This is the text of the “I am sorry to inform you but your device was hacked” blackmail email, including the grammatical and spelling errors:

Subject: Do You Do Any of These Embarrassing Things?

I am sorry to inform you but your device was hacked.

That’s what happened. I have used a Zero Click vulnerability with a special code to hack your device through a website.
A complicated software that requires precise skills that I posess.
This exploit works in a chain with a specially crafted unique code and such type of an attack goes undetected.
You only had to visit a website to be infected, and unfortunately for you it’s that simple for me.

You were not targeted, but just became one of the many unlucky people who got hacked through that webpage.
All of this happened in August. So I’ve had enough time to collect the information.

I think you already know what is going to happen next.
For a couple of month my software was quietly collecting information about your habits, websites you visit, websearches, texts you send.
There is more to it, but I have listed just a few reasons for you to understand how serious this is.

To be clear, my software controlled your camera and microphone as well.
It was just about right timing to get you privacy violated. I have made a few pornhub worthy videos with you as a lead actor.

I’ve been waiting enough and have decided that it’s time to put an end to this.
Here is my offer. Let’s name this a “consulting fee” I need to get, so I can delete the media content I have been collecting.
Your privacy stays untouched, if I get the payment.
Otherwise, I will leak the most damaging content to your contacts and post it to a public website for perverts to view.

You and I understand how damaging this will be to you, it’s not that much money to keep your privacy.

I don’t care about you personally, that’s why you can be sure that all files I have and software on your device will be deleted immediately after I receive the transfer.
I only care about getting paid.

My modest consulting fee is 1650 US Dollars to be transferred in Bitcoin. Exchange rate at the time of the transfer.
You need to send that amount to this wallet: 1Bg5s2oasuGyiMPkDu3XGQde85AmHDcR2E

The fee is non negotiable, to be transferred within 2 business days.

Obviously do not try to ask for help from the law enforcement unless you want your privacy to be violated.
I will monitor your every move until I get paid. If you keep your end of the agreement, you wont hear from me ever again.

Take care and have a good day.

The above email and anything it states is just a scam to try and scare you into paying the ransom. If you have received the “I am sorry to inform you but your device was hacked” email, we recommend deleting it and under no circumstances send any money to these cybercriminals.

Is the “I am sorry to inform you but your device was hacked” email real?

No, and don’t panic. The “I am sorry to inform you but your device was hacked” email is a scam that tries to trick you into thinking that your device or email has been hacked, then demands payment, or else they will send compromising information -such as images of you captured through your web camera or your pornographic browsing history – to all your friends and family. And in classic ransomware fashion, there’s typically a ticking clock. Giving users a short time limit to deliver the payment is social engineering at its finest.
Threats, intimidation, and high-pressure tactics are classic signs of a scam.

As you can imagine, the “I am sorry to inform you but your device was hacked” extortion email and anything it states is just a scam to try and scare you into paying the ransom.

They have my password! How did they get my password?

To make the threats more credible, the scammers may include one of your passwords in this email. The scammers have your password from sites that were hacked, and in this case, likely matched up to a database of emails and stolen passwords and sent this scam out to potentially millions of people. You can check if your email or password was compromised in a data breach on Haveibeenpwned.

If the password emailed to you is one that you still use, in any context whatsoever, stop using it and change it NOW. It’s also recommended that you enable two-factor authentication for your email and online accounts whenever that is an option.

Should I pay the ransom?

You should not pay the ransom. If you pay the ransom, you’re not only losing money but you’re encouraging the scammers to continue phishing other people.
Delete the “I am sorry to inform you but your device was hacked” email, and under no circumstances pay these cybercriminals a penny/dime/bitcoin.

What should I do now?

We recommend that you ignore the content of the “I am sorry to inform you but your device was hacked” email and delete it from your Inbox. However, if you have downloaded any attachments or clicked on any links from this email, or if you suspect that your computer might be infected with malware, you can follow the below guide to and scan your device for malware and remove it for free.

Depending on which operating system is installed on the device you want to scan for malicious programs, follow the removal guide.

To check your computer for malware and remove it from a Windows computer, follow these steps:

STEP 1: Use Malwarebytes Free to remove malware from Windows

In this first step, we will install and run a scan with Malwarebytes to remove adware, browser hijackers, and potentially unwanted programs that might be installed on your computer.

Malwarebytes Free is one of the most popular and most used anti-malware software for Windows, and for good reasons. It is able to destroy many types of malware that other software tends to miss, without costing you absolutely nothing. When it comes to cleaning up an infected device, Malwarebytes has always been free and we recommend it as an essential tool in the fight against malware.

Double-click on the Malwarebytes setup file. When Malwarebytes has finished downloading, double-click on the MBSetup file to install Malwarebytes on your computer. In most cases, downloaded files are saved to the Downloads folder.
You may be presented with an User Account Control pop-up asking if you want to allow Malwarebytes to make changes to your device. If this happens, you should click “Yes” to continue with the Malwarebytes installation.

Windows asking for permission to run the Malwarebytes installer — Windows asking for permission to run the Malwarebytes Free installer

Follow the on-screen prompts to install Malwarebytes. When the Malwarebytes installation begins, you will see the Malwarebytes setup wizard which will guide you through the installation process. The Malwarebytes installer will first ask you on what type of computer are you installing this program, click either Personal Computer or Work Computer.

Malwarebytes setup: Click on Personal Computer step 1 — Malwarebytes setup: Click on Personal Computer

On the next screen, click “Install” to install Malwarebytes on your computer.

Malwarebytes Setup: Click on Install — Click on Install to install Malwarebytes

When your Malwarebytes installation completes, the program opens to the Welcome to Malwarebytes screen. Click the “Get started” button.
Select “Use Malwarebytes Free”. After installing Malwarebytes, you’ll be prompted to select between the Free and the Premium version. The Malwarebytes Premium edition includes preventative tools like real-time scanning and ransomware protection, however, we will use the Free version to clean up the computer.
Click on “Use Malwarebytes Free“.

Click on Use Malwarebytes Free to continue with the install — Click on Use Malwarebytes Free

Click on “Scan”. To scan your computer with Malwarebytes, click on the “Scan” button. Malwarebytes will automatically update the antivirus database and start scanning your computer for malware.

Click on Scan button to start a system scan

Wait for the Malwarebytes scan to complete. Malwarebytes will scan your computer for adware and other malicious programs. This process can take a few minutes, so we suggest you do something else and periodically check on the status of the scan to see when it is finished.

Malwarebytes scanning for malicious programs — Wait for Malwarebytes to scan your computer

Click on “Quarantine”. When the scan has completed, you will be presented with a screen showing the malware infections that Malwarebytes has detected. To remove the malicious programs that Malwarebytes has found, click on the “Quarantine” button.

Review the malicious programs and click on Quarantine to remove I am sorry to inform you but your device was hacked — Review the malicious programs and click on Quarantine

Restart computer. Malwarebytes will now remove all the malicious files and registry keys that it has found. To complete the malware removal process, Malwarebytes may ask you to restart your computer.

Malwarebytes requesting to restart computer to complete the I am sorry to inform you but your device was hacked removal process — Malwarebytes requesting to restart computer

When the malware removal process is complete, you can close Malwarebytes and continue with the rest of the instructions.

STEP 2: Use HitmanPro to scan for malware and unwanted programs

In this second step, we will run a scan with HitmanPro to do a final check for any other malicious programs that may be present on your computer.

HitmanPro is a second opinion scanner that takes a unique cloud-based approach to malware scanning. HitmanPro scans the behavior of active files and also files in locations where malware normally resides for suspicious activity. If it finds a suspicious file that’s not already known, HitmanPro sends it to their clouds to be scanned by two of the best antivirus engines today, which are Bitdefender and Kaspersky.
Although HitmanPro is shareware and costs $24.95 for 1 year on 1 PC, there is actually no limit in scanning. The limitation only kicks in when there is a need to remove or quarantine detected malware by HitmanPro on your system and by then, you can activate the one time 30-days trial to enable the clean up.

Install HitmanPro. When HitmanPro has finished downloading, double-click on “hitmanpro.exe” (for 32-bit versions of Windows) or “hitmanpro_x64.exe” (for 64-bit versions of Windows) to install this program on your PC. In most cases, downloaded files are saved to the Downloads folder.

Double-click on the HitmanPro setup file - Help Guide — Double-click on the HitmanPro setup file

You may be presented with an User Account Control pop-up asking if you want to allow HitmanPro to make changes to your device. If this happens, you should click “Yes” to continue with the installation.

Windows asking for permissions to run the HitmanPro setup file - Help Guide

Follow the on-screen prompts. When HitmanPro starts you will be presented with the start screen as shown below. Click on the “Next” button to perform a system scan.
Wait for the HitmanPro scan to complete. HitmanPro will now begin to scan your computer for malicious programs. This process will take a few minutes.

HitmanPro while scanning for malware - Help Guide — HitmanPro while scanning for malware

Click on “Next”. When HitmanPro has finished the scan, it will display a list of all the malware that the program has found. Click on the “Next” button to remove the malicious programs.

HitmanPro scan summary. Click Next to remove I am sorry to inform you but your device was hacked pop-up ads — HitmanPro scan summary. Click Next to remove malware

Click on “Activate free license”. Click on the “Activate free license” button to begin the free 30 days trial and remove all the malicious files from your PC.

Activate the free HitmanPro license key — Click on the Activate free license button

Enter your email to complete the HitmanPro activation - Help Guide — Enter your email to complete the HitmanPro activation

Your computer should now be free of the “I am sorry to inform you but your device was hacked” malware. If your current antivirus allowed this malicious program on your computer, you may want to consider purchasing the full-featured version of Malwarebytes Anti-Malware to protect against these types of threats in the future.
If you are still having problems with your computer after completing these instructions, then please follow one of the steps:

Run a system scan with Emsisoft Emergency Kit
Ask for help in our Windows Malware Removal Help & Support forum.

If we have managed to help you, please share this guide to help others.

HitmanPro final installer screen — Click Next to complete the HitmanPro installation

Click Next to install HitmanPro on your PC

Double-click on MBSetup installer to install Malwarebytes — Double-click on MBSetup to install Malwarebytes Free

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