What is the “ChaosCC hacker group” email scam

“ChaosCC hacker group” email falls into the sextortion scam email category. No matter how real and threatening the contents of the email may seem, they are completely false. Despite what the email is claiming, there is no malware on your computer, nor has an explicit video of you watching pornography been filmed. You can ignore the email completely.

 

 

The “ChaosCC hacker group” email scam follows the usual sextortion scam email pattern. Even if they are operated by different malicious actors, all sextortion emails look more or less the same. The emails first try to catch users’ attention with alarming subject lines like “Your accounts were hacked by criminal group”. The sender of this particular “ChaosCC hacker group” email introduces themselves as a representative of a hacker group called ChaosCC. They claim to have gotten access to your email account by hacking your provider’s servers. This supposedly allowed them to infect your computer with malware.

The malware supposedly gave the “ChaosCC hacker” complete access to the infected device. This supposedly gave them control of the camera and microphone. The sender claims to have noticed you visiting pornography websites and made a video of you watching it. The sender also claims to have stolen your contacts as well and threatens to send the video to all of them unless you pay $700 in Bitcoin to one of the provided wallet addresses. Paying anything would be a complete waste of money because the contents of the email are entirely fake. Your computer is not infected with malware, nor is there a video of you watching pornography.

Sextortion emails can initially appear alarming but they are complete nonsense. Scammers count on users being anxious and alarmed enough to not think twice about the contents and how little the email makes sense. Scammers also use scare tactics to pressure users into paying. Sextortion emails are written in a very mocking way, with the sender trying to shame users for their supposed pornography-viewing habits. The threat to send an explicit video to all contacts is particularly effective, even if users have never visited a pornography website.

Every single one of these emails will be fake, no matter how convincing they may initially seem. There is no malware on your computer, nor is there a video of you watching pornography.

Below is the full “ChaosCC hacker group” email:

Hello!

I am a representative of the ChaosCC hacker group.
In the period from 03/06/2024 to 25/09/2024 we got access to your account by hacking one of the mail servers.

You already changed the password?
Sumptuously! But my program fixes this every time. And every time I know your new password!

Using access to your account, it turned out to be easy to infect the OS of your device.

At the moment, all your contacts are known to us. We also have access to your messengers and to your correspondence.
All this information is already stored with us.

We are also aware of your intimate adventures on the Internet.
We know that you adore adult sites and we know about your sexual addictions.
You have a very interesting and special taste (you understand what I mean).

While browsing these sites, your device’s camera automatically turns on.
Video-record you and what you watch is being save.
After that, the video clip is automatically saved on our server.

At the moment, several analogy video records have been collected.
From the moment you read this letter, after 60 hours,
all your contacts on this email box and in your instant messengers will receive these clips and files with your correspondence.

If you do not want this, transfer 700$ to our Bitcoin cryptocurrency wallet: 1KE1EqyKLPzLWQ3BhRz2g1MHh5nws2TRk, 1EbJGYEfMvH9fdMrohwNsa3fyqwyMM6eaa, 32KrteYfpSvNYBRXn1KfmPnsc2KUmoi4JV, 3BTJgPA8tSBAdao9E7yabDBa16oSqAzNt4, 3LuGuAXuycmpDFyumPbkdgqTdA2wUBhceB, 3BsSv1ieSQ6FQnS1JUhWDiZ4SZmVXi6Yj1, 15178QQtWpx154LvTMzLSGEhqgsKs9CKdn
I guarantee that we will then destroy all your secrets!

As soon as the money is in our account – your data will be immediately destroyed!
If no money arrives, files with video and correspondence will be sent to all your contacts.

You decide… Pay or live in hell out of shame…

We believe that this whole story will teach you how to use gadgets properly!
Everyone loves adult sites, you’re just out of luck.
For the future – just cover a sticker your device’s camera when you visit adult sites!

Take care of yourself!

 

Why did you receive a sextortion scam email?

Sextortion email senders often claim that the reason users receive the emails is because their computers have been hacked. However, the real reason is that users’ email addresses have been leaked by some services. Leaked and stolen email addresses end up on hacker forums, where they are bought by malicious actors. Unfortunately, receiving a sextortion email likely means your email address has been part of a breach or leaked. You can check on HaveIBeenPwned. If it has been leaked, you can’t really do anything about it but at least you can be more vigilant with unsolicited emails, especially if they contain an attachment or a link.

Another tactic used by malicious actors is revealing users’ passwords. This is a very effective tactic because it adds credibility to the email. If users haven’t encountered sextortion scams in the past, they may wonder how else would the sender have their password if not because of malware on their computer. In reality, passwords are stolen the same way as email addresses. Many services have very poor security and store passwords in plain text. This means passwords would easily be stolen in case of a cyberattack. Just like email addresses, leaked and stolen passwords end up on hacker forums. If you use unique passwords for all accounts and receive a sextortion email with a specific password, you can easily determine which service leaked it.

If an extortion email ever reveals a password you use, you need to change it immediately for all accounts you use it for. Keep in mind that passwords should be unique for all accounts and never reused. Passwords should also be difficult to guess, and be made up of combinations of upper and lowercase letters, numbers, and symbols. Password managers are great tools if you struggle with password creation.