4 ms·
Tell HN: Simple ransom spam results in success
So I was going through my spam folder and noticed email below. Essentially, spammer told me they recorded me watching porn and bitcoin address where I should send 650 USD equivalent to erase these records. I was like "what a waste of spam". But then decided to check bitcoin wallet - it actually received about 1500 USD worth of payments - https://www.blockchain.com/btc/address/17viZFKw1Xn8WQcpC6GwLqjzLTcE7qBJ93
Not sure what to get out of it, but found it is very interesting. Why hijack a computer and encrypt files, when you can just send a spam email and get the same result...
The original email: https://pastebin.com/JhtduV3W
- walrus01 8y agoHas anyone done an analysis of the btc addresses associated with the recent bomb threat spam, to see how much money they received? ref: https://www.google.com/search?q=bitcoin+bomb+threat+spam&num=100&client=ubuntu&hs=GUT&channel=fs&source=lnms&tbm=nws&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwi187PXi8vfAhVrs1QKHXFFB-4Q_AUIDigB&biw=1412&bih=1023 https://www.google.com/search?q=bitcoin+bomb+threat+spam&num...
- voyager2 8y agoI got a couple of those, both demanding $800. Maybe the $650 threshold gets a few more hits.
- PaulHoule 8y agoNow all you need to do is track down who sent the payment, then blackmail them with (1) I know you've been watching porn, and (2) I know you paid somebody off...