What is the “I’ve Got Access To Your Smartphone” email

“I’ve Got Access To Your Smartphone” email falls into the sextortion scam email category. It’s a very generic sextortion email that falsely claims a video of the recipient watching pornography has been made and will be distributed to all contacts unless a payment of $1,000 is made to the sender. The email contents are completely false, and users can just ignore the email.

 

 

The “I’ve Got Access To Your Smartphone” email is essentially a sextortion scam and follows the typical pattern for these emails. Even when these emails are operated by different malicious actors, sextortion emails are always more or less the same. The emails first try to catch users’ attention with alarming subject lines like “I’ve Got Access To Your Smartphone”. The emails usually land in the spam folders so most users won’t even notice them. Those who do will be greeted with an unsettling message that their smartphones have been hacked and the sender has complete access to them.

The email begins with the sender belittling and mocking the recipient. They claim that because the recipient has been browsing questionable websites and clicking on links, their devices got infected with malware. The malware supposedly gave the malicious actor access to the device, including the ability to turn the microphone and camera on/off. The sender claims to have noticed that the email recipient visits adult websites and decided to make an explicit video of them watching pornography. The supposedly explicit video will be sent to all contacts unless the recipient agrees to pay $1,000. Paying anything would be a complete waste of money because the email contents are fake. Users’ computers are not infected with malware, nor is there a video of them watching pornography.

Sextortion emails initially appear alarming but they are complete nonsense if you look at them with a clear head. Scammers use various scare tactics to pressure users into making rash decisions. Such emails are written in very mocking tones, with the sender making fun of the user’s supposed pornography viewing habits. The threat to send an explicit video to all contacts is particularly effective, even among users who have never visited pornography websites.

The full contents of the “I’ve Got Access To Your Smartphone” email scam are below:

Hey, so you’re the new face around here, huh?

I’m not messing around, buddy. You need to read this email carefully. Take a moment, collect yourself, and absorb the information. We’re discussing our agreement, and I need you to be on the same page.

ready? and now knock it into your stupid head and remember.

Wake the hell up, you imbecile! You’ve been a bit careless lately, scrolling through those photos of girls and clicking on links, stumbling upon some not-so-safe sites. Let’s talk about safety, shall we? Or rather, the lack thereof.

Here’s the lowdown: now I’ve got access to your smartphone, and I’ve seen it all. Yeah, Yeah, I’ve got footage of you jerking off in the bathroom, in your room (nice setup, by the way)

Because you’ve been screwing around on those seedy sites, I’ve managed to snatch up some juicy intel about your device, giving me full-blown control over it. I can spy on everything happening on your screen, flip on your camera and mic, and you wouldn’t know a damn thing. Oh, and I’ve got access to all your emails, contacts, and social media accounts too.

Been keeping tabs on your pathetic existence for a while now. Extracted quite a bit of juicy info from your system. Got videos and screenshots where on one side of the screen, there’s whatever you’re watching, and on the other, your blissful face. With just a click, I can send this filth to every single one of your contacts.

You ain’t got a clue about this, and it never even crossed your mind. My moves are slick, and the embedded code keeps refreshing every 30 minutes, so your antivirus software remains none the wiser.

I feel your worry and confusion.That video was straight up blunt, and I can’t even wrap my head around the humiliation you’ll face when your crew, your buddies, and your kin peep it out. But you know what? It’s life, bro.

Let’s put our heads together, figure out how to fix this mess.

I could wipe the slate clean and forget you ever existed, but I’m gonna need some motivation to make it happen. How about dropping a grand into my bitcoin wallet? $1000 bro!

At this bitcoin address: 1D9eR99TD5EzQ3tnzsHofvHsBnWCWSxK7w

Once you pay up, you’ll sleep like a baby. I keep my word.

Pay attention, I’m telling you straight: ‘We gotta make a deal’. I want you to know I’m coming at you with good intentions. I’ll keep my end of the bargain and wipe everything clean once you come through with the payment. My program will sniff out that Bitcoin payment and erase all the dirt I got on you. Don’t waste your time replying to this, it’s useless. The email and wallet are made just for you, untraceable. I don’t mess up, buddy.

And trust me, I’ve been thinking about my own privacy and safety. If I catch a whiff that you’ve shared this message with anyone else (like if it shows up on some other device), that video’s going straight to all your contacts.

And don’t even think about trying to switch off your phone or reset it to factory settings. It’s futile. Everything you need is in my hands, under my control.

You got 5-6 hours to get it sorted. I’m giving you plenty of time to think it over and do what’s right by our agreement. I’m expecting that payment.

Don’t take it personally. Think of it as a little life advice and be more vigilant in the future.

Honestly, those online tips about covering your camera aren’t as useless as they seem.

Good luck with that. Farewell.

Why did you receive a sextortion scam email

The one thing sextortion emails always do is claim that users received the email because their devices have been infected with some malware. However, the reality is that users receive these emails because their email addresses have been leaked and sold on hacker forums. Unfortunately, information like email addresses is leaked all the time by companies, whether because of their mistake or a cyberattack. When information is stolen or leaked, it ends up on hacker forums for other cybercriminals to buy and use for malicious purposes.

Unfortunately, receiving a sextortion email likely means your email address has been part of a breach and sold to cybercriminals. You can check on HaveIBeenPwned. If it has been leaked, you need to be very vigilant with unsolicited emails, especially if they contain an attachment or a link.

In some cases, malicious actors also reveal users’ passwords in sextortion emails. Unfortunately, this is an effective tactic. In users’ minds, how else would the sender have their password if not because they hacked the device? In reality, passwords are stolen the same way as email addresses. If a service or a platform has poor security and stores passwords in plaintext, passwords would easily be stolen if a cyberattack were to happen. Just like email addresses, passwords end up being sold on hacker forums. If you use unique passwords and receive a sextortion email with a specific password, it’s easy to tell which service leaked it.

If a sextortion 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. 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.