How to stop Pegasus Spyware email spam?

sophia2939 wrote:

I also received this. Has anything else happened since that email you received?

Nothing happens.

• It is a scam.
• They did not use Pegasus software
• They don't have any sensitive photos
• They don't know your internet activity
• The email did not come from your account. It was spoofed to make you think you have been hacked.
• This same email has gone out to thousands of people and it cost them nothing to do it, but if they just convince a small percentage of people to give them money, then it has enriched their pockets.

I agree it is a scam however they do have all my information in the email though the ss# is all x’d out but for the last two numbers which are wrong. Lastly a picture of the house across the road. Its a picture of pine trees along my neighbors backyard fence. Odd those trees were cut down over a year ago, which tells me it is a street view likely google maps. Google earth car drive by here about 2 years ago i remember this a security alert from a security camera on my fence the recorded it going west

Anyway my information is out on the web because of a Llc company I owned. But for the trees and the SSN I would probably believe the email. Nope no gottcha not this time

ziyada160 wrote:

I just received scammed email

Mark it as spam (junk), and move on with your day.

214oKutaFvo wrote:

I’ve had an email sent from my own email address threatening contact everyone who has my address. They say they are using Pegasus and will release my information in two day. Would they normally send proof of what they say they have?

The “hey pervert” scam is being spammed to most of the internet. You can use DuckDuckGo or another search engine and search for other discussions. It’s a very common topic.

I’ve been getting copies of that scam for months. Multiple copies.

Variations of that scam go back to 2018, and earlier. From 2018:

https://krebsonsecurity.com/2018/07/sextortion-scam-uses-recipients-hacked-passwords/

More info? See my replies above, among others.

KI7PBG wrote:

scam my mail program marked as junk but the mail did not come from you he sticks your email as a header, if you view the source of his email , or the alleged one that came from your account you will see it actually come from this address from (me942.com unknown [109.172.38.168]) <==== with this IP. clearly not icloud. delete it and move on with your day nothing will happen.

That’s just not where that spam is actually from.

If it were, this whole spam campaign would have been over years ago.

That’s “just” somebody’s compromised equipment, or compromised credentials.

That and many other examples are being controlled from elsewhere.

Part of a botnet.

Malware and spam is a business, and quite often with a lot of “borrowed” computer resources.

All sending out creative fiction solicitations in this case, or propaganda, or pharmaceutical ads, or whatever is profitable. Or other attacks against re-used passwords, or weak or compromised passwords, or known and unpatched vulnerabilities. Or phishing for credentials at millions-scale, as one recent legal case and arrests has alleged. Or running distributed denials of service against individuals or organizations, overrunning their network bandwidth, or filling their mailboxes, or whatever.

Zxgyhsfd wrote:

This same situation has happened to me. It said the same thing as everyone else. I think that the pegasus software is true, but they have a saved up email to send and pick a random email so there si ish “company” can get money.

It’s a scam.

Swimteam71 wrote:

I got the same thing but mine has my phone number, first and last name and a google image of my house. they said they have my camera hacked and my mic. is it still a scam or should I be worried.

It’s still a scam. If they had what they claim, they’d show you.

All of what you’ve been provided is widely available thanks to multiple data breaches, or, with Street View, available to all and easily automated.

Again, they haven’t shown you anything not already in what (in 2024) amounts to the public record.

If they had hacked your equipment, they’d show you that.

Panic works though, and I’m sure this’ll be profitable to the scammers, assuming they can retain access to Street View and other parts of the scam. Breached data though, is endemically available.

TL;DR: higher effort, same scam.

sophia2939 wrote:

I also received this.

You and most of the Internet.

Has anything else happened since that email you received?

Yes, I then got another copy. And another copy. And another. And yet more copies.

It is a scam.

It gets spammed.

There is no malware.

You're not targeted by Pegasus.

No camera access and no video.

No compromising photos.

(If the scammers had that, they'd show you some.)

One of various discussions of this and similar scams:

https://krebsonsecurity.com/2024/09/sextortion-scams-now-include-photos-of-your-home/

Highlighting added: "Sextortion — even semi-automated scams like this one with no actual physical leverage to backstop the extortion demand — is a serious crime that can lead to devastating consequences for victims."

This particular scammer lied. That's the no-leverage" part. They do not have compromising photos or videos.

Mark as spam, and move on.

For other discussions, see previous replies, and search for the word "pervert" in the Apple Community postings.

Here are a few other of the many scams around:

Recognize and avoid social engineering schemes including phishing messages, phony support calls, and other scams - Apple Support

There is nothing more to do except delete the message.

Of course it is a scam. Just delete and move on with your day.

hoo273 wrote:

I got the same email this morning at 12.59am (Pacific time zone). Sounds like a phishing scam. But it is interesting that it was send to my IOx email. How did he or she find my email?

Visit https://haveibeenpwned.com/ and enter some email addresses of your acquaintance, and see which data breaches included those addresses.

This list is akin to what Apple does with their password security recommendations.

There’s more about an already-massive breach becoming known right now, involving Ticketmaster, Santander, and quote possibly multiple other vendors via Snowflake.

I got the same message. They told me to not to contact the police. Lol I was talking a week ago with a guy from the home security. I will contacting him. I don’t have anything to hide. I am in the nurse school. Wow what a scammer. Asking to send money.

i received one of these today.

i always ignore them.

if they truly hacked my system..they'd be able to rip me off and steal everything without sending some warning..

smh these 'hackers' aren't very clever..

[Edited by Moderator]

Linz23deport Said:

“This just happened to me an hour ago. Requesting money or a video will be released.”

———-

Report this to the Federal Government:

It’s a scam. I got the same thing, but from a more political spectrum. So, report it to the FTC: https://reportfraud.ftc.gov/. Your report will be in their database, and they’ll have something to go by when then catch these punks.

From the many server breeches you've seen in the news. Or from spammers who sell lists of addresses to each other. There a quite a few ways for them to get this information.