Spike in webcam blackmail scams over Labour Day weekend

A high number of blackmail webcam scam complaints were reported over the Labour Day weekend. Photo / File

While many Kiwis were basking in the sun and enjoying an extra day off over the long weekend, others were being blackmailed by online scammers.

A high number of people have reported being targeted over the Labour Day weekend by scammers who have sent out threatening emails and demanded ransom money.

Cyber security advice website CERT NZ (Computer Emergency Response Team) said victims reported scammers emailing them and showing them a password a victim had used in the past and may still be using.

"The email also claims that the person visited an adult website,'' a statement said.

"The scammer claims to have turned on the victim's webcam while the victim was on the adult website and recorded what was happening.''

CERT NZ said they had received as many reports of webcam blackmail scams in the three days over the Labour Day weekend as it had received last month alone.

The exact number is yet to be released, but it is said to be the largest spike the site has seen since it launched in April last year.

In the first three months of this year, 506 complaints were filed to the cybersecurity watchdog and was the highest number on record at the time.

In previous complaints this year, scammers threatened to release video footage to all of a person's contacts unless a ransom of between $1700 and $3000 was paid.

This latest report comes after a victim in Canterbury was scammed out of a up to $320,000 in life savings by an online con artist.

That particular scam involved large investments via cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin.

WHAT TO DO? DELETE IT, EXPERTS SAY:

Manager operations Declan Ingram said people were afraid to reach out; but said the best thing to do was to get help from groups such as theirs and to delete the email.

"We know that scams like this prey on people being too embarrassed to seek help, so we assume that the reports we've received are only the tip of the iceberg.

"It can be frightening to receive an email where someone claims to have access to your computer or device and tries to blackmail you.

"We want to reassure New Zealanders that this is a well-known scam and that the best thing to do is report it to CERT NZ and then delete it.''

Ingram could not confirm if video recordings did exist or if it was an opportunistic scam. They had not had any reports of scammers releasing a video when a ransom was not paid.

Scammers were getting passwords from one of the data leaks that had been posted online, he said.

"They are taking advantage of finding this data leak and are trying to pretend they have access to your computer.

"These data leaks contain huge numbers of account names and passwords. Some contain millions of credentials.''

Anyone worried about a threatening email or needing help can report the matter confidentially via the CERT NZ website or by calling 0800 CERT NZ (0800 2378 69).