It’s scary when you receive an email from someone claiming they hacked your account and then they show a password you’ve actually used before, but your email isn’t hacked at all. The scammer is using an old password from a past data breach, one you once used on another website, maybe a shopping site, forum, or app, and sometimes you use the same password for all platforms. When an old website was hacked, its login details were leaked from the database, and that stolen data later ended up on the dark web, where scammers pick it up and try to scare people.
Scammers don’t target just you; they send similar emails to hundreds or even thousands of people using automated scripts. Sometimes they even use your own email address as the sender (alias) to make it look like your account was truly hacked. The scam emails you receive are part of a global “sextortion/extortion” campaign. These messages usually follow the same pattern to pressurize victims into paying. They typically include claims such as:
– claim they hacked your email password, device, or webcam
– demand Bitcoin
– threaten to leak your data
– use your old password to convince you they’re telling the truth
None of these claims are real, it’s just a psychological trick designed to scare you into responding or paying.
Check if your data was exposed in a Breach?
You can check if your details (digital footprint) were exposed in known breaches using these trusted
https://haveibeenpwned.com
https://www.malwarebytes.com/digital-footprint
When you visit these websites and enter your email address, they scan your digital footprint against publicly known data-breach databases and show whether your information has ever been leaked. The results will list the websites or services where your data was exposed, the type of information that was leaked (such as your email, password, or username), and the approximate date of each breach. If your email appears in the results, change your passwords immediately and avoid reusing the same or similar passwords across multiple sites. Remember, appearing in a data breach doesn’t mean your account is currently hacked; it simply means your information was once part of a leaked database.
