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Feds Warn Of New Sextortion Email Scam

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- Warnings are being issued about a sextortion scam that is people over email and blackmailing them for thousands of dollars.

CBS2's Jessica Layton recently spoke to one of those victims.

"You may not know me and you are probably wondering why you're getting this email, right? I'm a hacker who cracked your devices a few months ago," that's what one such victim of the scam read in his inbox.

It comes in the form of creepy email claiming your webcam has been compromised, you've been caught checking out pornography and it's time to pay up.

"Six-hundred fifty dollars U.S. is a fair price for our little secret," the victim said, further explaining the extortion attempt.

Otherwise, the hackers will send the video to all your email and social media contacts. The man CBS2's Layton spoke to earlier was targeted but doesn't watch adult videos, so he knew it was a sextortion scam. Even so, he asked CBS2 to conceal his identity.

"I'm just afraid that since I'm a whistleblower, brought it to the peoples' attention, they're gonna come and try to hack me," the man said.

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Still, he reported it to the FBI, which has seen an uptick in these kinds of scams, victimizing men, since the summer. He also told Bo Dietel, who runs a cyber security company where clients are constantly getting these emails.

"They're panicked. They're ready to send $2,000. So you gotta figure if there are 100 out there and there are five idiots that will send $2,000, it's a pretty good business," Dietel said.

FLASHBACK: "Sextortion" Scam Hitting Email Inboxes Worldwide

Late last year the Federal Trade Commission warned of a similar scheme where the fraudsters were demanding payments using bitcoin in exchange for keeping quiet about alleged affairs. Security expert Manny Gomez explains it often looks like it's coming from your own account.

"The technology in spoofing, which is what this is, where they're able to use your own email address has advanced tremendously," Gomez said.

The FTC says threats, intimidation and high-pressure tactics are all telltale signs of a scam. Unfortunately, the cyber bad guys can be tough to track down, CBS2's Layton reported.

"A lot of these people are overseas. They live in countries that have little to no cyber security programs or laws," Gomez said.

Gomez said the best thing to do if you get an email like this is to ignore it. Don't open emails that look like they came from your own account. Change passwords often. You might even consider changing your email address altogether.

Those are small prices to pay so you don't fall victim in an even bigger way.

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