Cyber Extortion: How to Spot and Avoid Cyber This Dangerous Cyber Crime

Cybercrime is costing the world trillions of dollars each year!

A recent research study predicts that cyber-related crimes will cost 10.5 trillion USD annually by 2025. If it were to be measured as a country, cybercrime would be the world’s third-largest economy, trailing just behind the U.S and China. 

Cyber extortion, phishing, data breach, and identity theft are among the most common cybercrimes. This post will answer vital cyber extortion questions, including what is cyber extortion, how you can be extorted online, and how you can stay safe

Let’s get started!

How to Find out Who’s Behind the Cyber Extortion

Finding out whos behind the cyber extortion can be the difference between reporting them to the authorities and letting them demolish your life. Finding out who’s behind the cyber extortion is as simple as running a reverse search with the search bar below. Enter any information you have on the person into the search bar below to find the information you’re looking for.

What is cyber extortion?

Before we look into cyber extortion, let’s first see the answer to ‘what is extortion’. Extortion is the act of getting something, mostly money, by threats or force. In most cases, the perpetrator blackmails you to give them money or do other favors. 

Cyber extortion happens when cybercriminals threaten to compromise an organization’s data or disable its operations unless a particular demand is met. In most cases, the demands come in the form of payments.

Hackers gain access to your system by sending suspicious emails containing malicious software that hijacks your system. Similar links may be shared on social media or via websites. The perpetrators can resort to denial of service, blackmail, etc. 

How can you be distorted online?

Cyber extortion is increasingly becoming common in the current digital world. The two most common types of cyber extortion are DDoS attacks and ransomware, although sextortion is joining this list. Let’s see what each of these attacks means and how they can happen to you.

1. DDOS attack

Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attack is a cybercrime where the perpetrator floods a server with internet traffic to prevent users from accessing online services and websites. It’s like a traffic jam clogging up the highway, preventing the road users from arriving at their destination.

DDoS attack achieves effectiveness by using several compromised computer systems as a source of attack traffic. Affected systems can include computers and other networked devices – like the IoT devices. 

Cybercriminals may threaten your organizations with DDoS, claiming that the attack will happen if a certain fee isn’t paid to stop it. Others threaten to publish sensitive information, which can lead to lawsuits. 

2. Ransomware 

Ransomware is malicious software that encrypts victims’ data and blocks access to their system. Cybercriminals then demand ransom money from their victims to release or decrypt the data. The hackers use websites and emails to trick their victims into clicking infected links that download the malware. 

Ransomware attacks are prevalent nowadays, with major companies worldwide falling victims. Cybercriminals will target any business, and their victims may come from any industry. Famous ransomware attacks include the WannaCry, Locky, and Bad Rabbit attacks.

3. Sextortion

Sextortion is a cyber-enabled crime where the target user is lured into performing sexual acts in front of a webcam or sharing intimate images. The perpetrators then record these actions and use video footage or explicit images to blackmail their victims.

4. Email extortion

In this type of cyber extortion, criminals use emails to blackmail their targets. The perpetrators will claim to have your sensitive information or content and threaten to forward it to family members or friends unless you pay.

To invoke fear in their victims, the perpetrators might show screenshots or images of the explicit content. Others skim the victim’s social media profiles to find their friends and family members, so they can threaten to destroy their reputation.

How can you protect your business from cyber extortion?

Cyber extortion may lead to several undesired outcomes, including data breaches, damages to an organization’s reputation, business interruption, financial losses, and loss of customers. The good news is that cyber extortion may be avoided.

Here are a few tips to prevent falling victim to cyber extortion:

• Employee training: Most cyber extortion starts through social engineering or email tactics. In the case of a business, training employees can help them identify suspicious links, emails, websites, or pop-ups. Such training can also help them to stop sharing sensitive information.
• Install antivirus software: Have a firewall and ensure that all the system software and devices are updated. A firewall monitors incoming and outgoing traffic
• Encrypt and back up sensitive data: Implement a recovery process and test it to avoid downtime should you fall victim.
• Use VPN for remote workers: A VPN masks a user’s location and digital footprint, making it hard for hackers to compromise the system 
• Verify identity with a professional: Suppose you receive an email or a link from a person you don’t know or don’t trust; you may also use the services of a professional to verify the identity of a sender. Professionals like Social Catfish verify individuals’ online identities using email addresses, phone numbers, images, and online profiles.

The bottom line

There are many ways that a scammer can get ahold of your identity in order to extort you, but with Social Catfish, you can find out who is behind the cyber extortion with just a few pieces of information. Use the search bar below to get the information you need.