Police have issued a warning about a scam which claims to have accessed people's laptops and filmed them engaging in sexual activity.
Officers from Nottinghamshire Police’s cybercrime unit are encouraging members of the public to remain vigilant in light of the new ‘sextortion’ email scam.
Victims are sent an email that claims the scammer has hacked their laptop and acquired footage of them engaging in sexual activity. They often use the victim’s password in the email.
The sender then claims they will not share the video if they are sent a sum of money, typically via a bitcoin transaction.
Molly Steward, of Nottinghamshire Police’s cybercrime unit , said: “These scams can often appear very legitimate, using a password obtained through a data breach on a company that may have logged your details.
“If you see one of these emails, do not be alarmed. Never pay money as a result of these emails and report them to Action Fraud.
“We’d also recommend that you check whether or not your email address and passwords have been compromised in a data breach via www.haveibeenpwned.com.”
