According to Bleeping Computer, sextortion scammers have started to utilize new tactics, such as sending sextortion emails in foreign languages and splitting bitcoin addresses into two parts, in order to bypass spam filters and secure email gateways so that their scam emails are delivered to their intended recipients. For example, scammers are sending emails to English speaking users but with the content written in Russian and instructions to “Use google translator.”
Jake Moore, Cybersecurity Specialist at ESET:
“This just proves that sextortion attackers will continue to evolve and try anything to evade detection from current technologies and filters.
If you receive such an email, you shouldn’t panic. There is very little chance that any of the claims, such as the hacker being able to install spyware on your machine, have any truth in them. This is purely a tactic used to try and instill fear into the recipient and scare them into thinking the worst, resulting in them impulsively sending money to a criminal.
People should never feel forced into sending money to extortionists, and should always contact the police if they feel threatened. I would also advise people to place a webcam cover over their webcams when not in use, to add confidence in the case of any future sextortion emails.”
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Article Link: http://digitalforensicsmagazine.com/blogs/?p=2960