Cybercriminals seem to have an unending arsenal of tricks up their sleeve when it comes to extorting money from unsuspecting victims. Extortion is one of the techniques that they choose above others. US extortion victims lost $107.5 million last year, according to the FBI’s most recent Internet Crime Report. Blackmailers won’t just use one tactic, but will utilise several forms of extortion in order to compel their victims to do what they want – whether it’s giving them a large quantity of money or executing activities on their behalf. This is something to keep in mind. In any الإلكترونية الجرائم مكافحة وحدة, we can help you out.
Ransomware
In terms of extortion, ransomware is the most well-known example, with targets ranging from corporations to governments to individuals. Ransomware will be used to encrypt your data if you click on a malicious link in an email, social media post or an instant message that was sent to you directly by a hacker. This is the fundamental idea. Your data will be encrypted and you will not be able to access them until you pay the ransom, if the virus has successfully infected your device. A new feature introduced by certain ransomware gangs is doxing, in which they search your files for sensitive information, which they threaten to reveal if you don’t cough up an extra price for the privilege of keeping it private. Double extortion? That’s what this may be termed.
Do your research before paying any ransom. If there is no decryption tool for the strain of ransomware that has infected your device, don’t pay. Check read our fantastic, in-depth post, Ransomware: Expert advise on how to stay safe and secure, for more information on defending yourself against ransomware assaults. You can get our help in الإلكترونية الجرائم.
Using hacking and extortion as a strategy
Even though the title says it all, the extortionist will hack your device or online accounts, search through all of your files seeking for any sensitive or valuable info, and then take it. Despite the fact that it has some similarities to ransomware, this kind of attack requires the cybercriminal to spend time and money physically breaching and accessing your device. Unless, of course, your password was compromised as part of a much larger data breach, in which case the effort required lowers dramatically. Successfully targeted individuals will get an email from the criminal threatening to release their personal data and providing examples as leverage in order to induce the intended victim into paying.
Using a strong passphrase and enabling two-factor authentication on all of your accounts is a good first step in protecting yourself against identity theft and other online threats.
