Recently, a wave of disturbing extortion emails has been circulating globally, targeting Microsoft 365 users. These emails demand $2,000 in cryptocurrency, threatening to leak fabricated nude webcam photos to the recipient’s friends, family, and colleagues if the ransom isn’t paid.
The emails are particularly deceptive because they come from a Microsoft 365 Message Center address, meaning they can bypass traditional spam filters. Typically, such blackmail attempts would be blocked by security systems, but the appearance of being sent from an official Microsoft address has allowed them to slip through unnoticed.
At this time, it’s unclear how these hackers managed to use Microsoft’s infrastructure for their scheme, but the incident is under investigation by Microsoft, according to reports from BleepingComputer. If you receive one of these emails, it’s critical to avoid paying the ransom. Giving in to extortion only signals to the attackers that you are a vulnerable target, and you may find yourself repeatedly blackmailed for larger sums of money.