An email claims they filmed you through your webcam — pay Bitcoin or the video goes out
A threatening email claims the sender hacked your webcam and filmed you watching adult content. They demand Bitcoin within 24-48 hours or send video to your contacts. The email may include an old password of yours as "proof". There is no video — the passwords come from published data breach lists.
Also known as: Bitcoin blackmail email AU, webcam extortion scam, fake hacker email, "I filmed you through your webcam" scam
Already happened to you? Do this in the next few minutes
- 1 Call your bank or card's fraud line right now. Use the number on the back of your card — not any number from the message or caller. Ask them to stop or reverse the payment and freeze the account.
- 2 If you paid by gift card, wire, or an app (Zelle, Venmo, Cash App): contact that company immediately and report it as fraud. Acting fast sometimes recovers the money.
- 3 Report to the FBI at ic3.gov and the FTC at reportfraud.ftc.gov. The sooner, the better.
What to do right now
- 1 Do not pay. There is no video. Paying does not stop the emails — it marks you as a paying victim and more emails will follow
- 2 Do not reply to the email — replying confirms the address is monitored and puts you on higher-value target lists
- 3 If a password shown in the email is one you still use, change it immediately on every site where you use it, and enable two-factor authentication
- 4 Check your email address on https://haveibeenpwned.com to see which data breaches your password was leaked in
- 5 Cover your webcam with tape or a physical slider anyway — a good general habit even though this specific email is fake
- 6 Delete the email. If they escalate to a real threat (with actual video evidence), report to police via 131 444 (Police Assistance Line) as a serious matter
- 7 Report to Scamwatch at https://www.scamwatch.gov.au/report-a-scam or ReportCyber at https://www.cyber.gov.au/report.
Red flags
- ⚠ An email out of nowhere claiming a hacker has been watching your screen, camera, or microphone for weeks
- ⚠ The email includes an old password of yours to prove authenticity — you can check whether it was in a data breach at https://haveibeenpwned.com
- ⚠ You are told to pay $500-$2000 AUD equivalent in Bitcoin to a specific wallet address within 24-48 hours
- ⚠ The email threatens to send video 'evidence' to your contacts, family, or employer
- ⚠ The email has no personalised details beyond a name or email address — no actual video is attached and no other proof of a real intrusion exists
- ⚠ Some emails include your address or a Google Street View photo of your house — from data brokers, not from an actual break-in