Public Advisory, Email Scam Investigation

Public Advisory,
Email Scam Investigation

Broadcast time: 02:32 PM
Date: Monday, Sep 23, 2024
Unit: Intelligence Services
Case #: n/a

The Toronto Police Service is making the public aware of ongoing email scam being reported across Canada. 

How the scam works:

• victims receive an email addressed to them, containing personal information such as their name, phone number, and address
• the email falsely claims the victim has visited a pornographic website and that malware has been installed
• the scammer then threatens to send alleged videos from the victim's phone to their contact list unless a payment in bitcoin is made
• the email warns the victim not to share the message with anyone else
• the scam claims that once payment is made, all alleged videos will be deleted

The Toronto Police Service is advising the public that this is a scam.

The personal information included in the email likely originates from a past data breach. The image of the victim's residence included in the email is taken from Google Maps, not from someone physically visiting the location. At no point was the victim's device compromised.

Tips to protect yourself from this scam:

• be aware of this type of fraud
• if you receive such an email, report it to the police
• do not pay any money; the scammers do not have any compromising videos or images
• if your information has been part of a previous data breach, change your account passwords
• enable multifactor authentication on your accounts for added security

Anyone with information is asked to contact police at 416-808-2222, Crime Stoppers anonymously at 416-222-TIPS (8477), or at www.222tips.com.

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Constable Caroline de Kloet for Detective Sergeant Lindsay Riddell