Nasty blackmailing email

[HG65]

Someone emailed me to say they'd hacked my email account and were going to send malicious emails to all my contacts, or use AI to generate stuff to post stuff online etc etc, unless I paid bitcoin into their bank account within 48 hours. I can't remember exactly, but I think the amount demanded was $1290 - and the sender was obviously from a country where homosexuality is illegal..

That email had gone straight into the online spam folder, so, happily was not delivered to my laptop !! But I saw it when I checked the online spam folder, which I do every now and then because genuine emails are sometimes marked as spam (heaven knows why !!)

While I don't intend to pay any attention to the nasty little blackmailer, I am concerned about the fact that email on Virginmedia is being hacked - and I do believe that it is, because the emailer also mentioned the first part of my password. So, is VM aware of this ? and, if so, what are they doing about it ?

I wanted to speak to VM about it, but there aren't any contact details on their website - or, if there are, then they're very well hidden !! On the Contacting Virgin Media page it says "... learn how to contact us directly further down." but there's no contact info anywhere on that page. I did find a live chat button on their website, but that doesn't work - and phoning 150 doesn't get me through to a live person these days either.

So I decided to post in this forum - firstly, to highlight the hacking, and, secondly, in the hopes that someone will tell Virgin Media about it.

OTY, Virgin Community.

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There have been many reports of this, so VM know all about it.

[Moonbucks]

Try haveibeenpwned com

Put your email address in. If it says yes then you are on a spam list. Ignore these jokers 

[HG65]

Thanks, Moonbucks. It says yes I've been pwned 3 times. But I don't think it was just spam because the hacker named my password in the email. I don't know what to do now. Am worried about changing my password, in case I then have problems accessing my mail  a problem that other people have had and written about in this forum. I'm not tech-y at all (an IT-dinosaur really) and can't understand some of the instructions re changing passwords, and then having to make another password to secure the first one. Oh dear !!

P.S. VM chucked the notification about your reply into the online spam folder - lucky I checked 🙂

[PimmsOClock]

Please think about this, did you ever, reruse the same password on any other site - or even a subtle variation of this password?

It works like this; imagine you setup an account with your bank, and use the password “password1-bank’, and also setup an account with ‘mikes-gardening-services’, and use the same email address but use the password  “password1-mikes-gardening-services’? And Mike’s Gardening Services gets hacked, because they have all the security of a wet paper towel!

OK that’s a bit excessive, but you see what I mean, if you use the same or similar password on multiple sites, its only as secure as the least secure site, 'Mike’s Gardening Services' gets hacked, they’ll clear out your bank account!

Sucks to be you!

On the other hand, you do have radically different and unused passwords on each site, but the hacker does have evidence of your (unique) VM password? That indicates that VM has actually been hacked, and has failed to report this to the ICO as they are legally required to do, and are looking at a fine of potentially ‘company terminating’ amount.

[IPFreely]

If they have the correct password or part of it it'll be because you used the password elsewhere, not because they compromised VM. 

These bottom feeders bought or found a list of hacked usernames and passwords online. They probably haven't even tried to access your email and are random clueless morons trying their luck. They happened to find someone going by what you said potentially vulnerable to blackmail over homosexuality.

Ignore. If they had a clue and had access to your email you'd find out about it after they used it to steal your identity to attempt to open credit accounts and rinse any online shopping services.

Oh and change the password to your email. Urgently. Alongside anything else you've used that password on.

Also don't use VM email. Get a GMail account. Move your accounts over ASAP. 

[HG65]

Thanks for your replies, PimmsOClock and IPFreely - and for the advice. I shall stop worrying about that nasty email now.

[HG65]

Oh dear !! changing my password is turning into a nightmare !!

I changed it successfully for the online mailbox - but apparently I needed an app password for receiving mail on my laptop. So I signed into MyVM, and went to Settings, Account Details etc to do that - and the website said I needed a DIFFERENT [not Virgin] email address to verify it was me. So I put in my gmail address (which I never use) and got an email on gmail saying "...your new My Virgin Media email address will be changed to ---------@gmail.com. From now on, you'll need to use your new email address to sign into My Virgin Media"

I don't WANT my VM email address changed !! I just want to be able to receive mail on my laptop, and get an app password to do that. Can someone please help me to sort this out ..... please !!!

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@HG65 wrote:

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I don't WANT my VM email address changed !! I just want to be able to receive mail on my laptop, and get an app password to do that. Can someone please help me to sort this out ..... please !!!

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Your Virgin Media email account's email address remains the same.

Use the Gmail email address when signing into My Virgin Media or Virgin Media Mail (webmail) along with the Virgin Media account's password.

Use your Virgin Media email address and App Password when setting up access on an email client, i.e. Thunderbird or similar.

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[CurlyKylie]

Is there any indication that your email has been actually been compromised?

I get those types of junk email quite often and although they may initially seem frightening they are just opportunistic spam.  They send them to pretty much everyone in the hope you panic and pay up.

Just delete it and forget about it.