User blog:Timebomb192potato/WBOR 12 NewsCenter: Fake hackers use data breaches to scam victims

WBOR-TV News Report - December 7, 2019


 * KARLA NARJINARI (female voice; American accent): What would you do if someone e-mailed you that they have an embarrassing photo or video of you and that they will forward the material to family, friends or coworkers unless you payed hundreds of dollars in Bitcoin?
 * RICK TREMAIN (male voice; New Zealand accent): Well this is what the Boston Police Department is warning about today, fake hackers are scamming people using Bitcoin to prey on their worst fears. Our Barry Quast has the story.
 * LACEY TRAN (female voice; mild Boston accent): It was very scary. I felt like I was in trouble.
 * BARRY QUAST (male voice; Mid-Atlantic accent): Lacey Tran of Ayer got the shock of her life last week when she got an email claiming to be from a hacker, who, for no reason whatsover other than possible amusement, implanted malware on her computer, and had recorded embarrassing videos of her with her webcam, and of whom knew one of her old passwords.
 * LACEY: They told me they would forward the material to my family, friends and co-workers unless I paid $2,000 in Bitcoin.
 * BARRY: She called her friend Louie Batzing of Cambridge, who is a computer expert, and of which is skilled with cryptocurrency such as Bitcoin. When she told him the story, he told her it was a scam.
 * LOUIE BATZING (male voice; Boston accent): They are trying to extort money from the computer illiterate by preying on their worst fears.
 * BARRY: A few days ago, this man from Amherst, who didn't want to be identified, said he had received the e-maill as well, and paid $3,200 in Bitcoin to the scammers.
 * MAN FROM AMHERST (distorted male voice; Springfield/Western Massachusetts accent): They told me they had my password, which was an old password for ToonTown Online, and would release a "double display" video of me engaging in graphic activities to my family & friends unless I paid the ransom. So I did, buying up Bitcoin and sending it to the address he mentioned... and soon I began to regret it. It depleted 90% of my savings account.
 * BARRY (on-screen): Cryptocurrency experts say that the Bitcoin sextortion scam is mostly operated out of Vietnam, with the scammers possibly having obtained the passwords and e-mails from old data breaches. The Boston Police advise residents that if they receive one of the emails, they are asked to delete the email, to not send any money, to change their passwords, and to notify the police. Barry Quast, WBOR 12 NewsCenter.