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1. Embed this notice
   Electronic Frontier Foundation (eff@mastodon.social)'s status on Saturday, 14-Dec-2024 07:05:03 JST Electronic Frontier Foundation

   Have you received an email from an alleged hacker with an attached PDF that includes your name, a picture of your house, and a threat to leak embarrassing info or photos to your friends and family? Don’t panic. 🧵 (1/7)

   • Embed this notice
     Electronic Frontier Foundation (eff@mastodon.social)'s status on Saturday, 14-Dec-2024 07:05:13 JST Electronic Frontier Foundation

     in reply to

     Despite what the email says, you probably haven’t been hacked. These kinds of schemes use publicly available info, not the kind of info that hackers would get from obtaining access to your accounts, so it’s unlikely the sender has hacked your accounts or devices. (2/7)

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     Electronic Frontier Foundation (eff@mastodon.social)'s status on Saturday, 14-Dec-2024 07:05:25 JST Electronic Frontier Foundation

     in reply to

     Here’s our biggest tip: do not pay the ransom. Having your address, full name, and a picture of your house doesn’t mean that someone has acquired private, compromising info about you. Here are some quick answers to a few questions people have after receiving these emails. (3/7)

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     Electronic Frontier Foundation (eff@mastodon.social)'s status on Saturday, 14-Dec-2024 07:05:49 JST Electronic Frontier Foundation

     in reply to

     Q: How did they get a picture of my house?

     A: With Google Street View and real estate sites, it’s not difficult to find a photo of someone’s house if you have their address. Data breaches are also common and scammers likely obtained multiple lists with the personal info of millions of people. (4/7)

     Robert Link repeated this.
   • Embed this notice
     Electronic Frontier Foundation (eff@mastodon.social)'s status on Saturday, 14-Dec-2024 07:06:07 JST Electronic Frontier Foundation

     in reply to

     Q: Should I respond to the email?

     A: Absolutely not. (5/7)

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     Electronic Frontier Foundation (eff@mastodon.social)'s status on Saturday, 14-Dec-2024 07:06:18 JST Electronic Frontier Foundation

     in reply to

     Q: So if I shouldn’t pay the ransom and I shouldn’t respond, what should I do instead?

     A: Unfortunately, there isn’t much you can do, but there are some security hygiene steps you can take. Use a password manager to keep your passwords strong & unique. Enable 2FA when it’s an option. (6/7)

     Seth :rebel: :fist_raised: ⁂ repeated this.
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     Electronic Frontier Foundation (eff@mastodon.social)'s status on Saturday, 14-Dec-2024 07:06:53 JST Electronic Frontier Foundation

     in reply to

     • Exploit Code Not People

     For more information, read the full blog post from @cooperq: https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2024/09/new-email-scam-includes-pictures-your-house-dont-fall-it (7/7)

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     0x575446, Fifth Columnist (0x575446@mastodon.social)'s status on Saturday, 14-Dec-2024 07:13:17 JST 0x575446, Fifth Columnist

     in reply to

     @eff My would be extortionist apparently doesn't know how to use Street View - the picture is my neighbor's house.

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     gleeb (gleeb@mastodon.social)'s status on Saturday, 14-Dec-2024 07:26:20 JST gleeb

     in reply to

     @eff it is tempting to ask for 2 8x10 and a half dozen wallet sized, but I guess you're right

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     Sir Thomas Goodwin, M.S. (tgoodwin@mastodon.social)'s status on Saturday, 14-Dec-2024 14:36:19 JST Sir Thomas Goodwin, M.S.

     in reply to

     @eff

     I informed them that I would require 25% of all profits moving forward. However, I have not received a response for reasons that are unclear.

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     vorlon (vorlon@mastodon.social)'s status on Sunday, 15-Dec-2024 06:44:48 JST vorlon

     in reply to

     @eff my favorite have been the real estate agents using a street view picture on the outside of the envelope to seem more personal and connected to the neighborhood

     A picture of the neighbor's shed