#but if you make fun of them and call them a scammer i'm still going to say you're heartless

[margridarnauds]

I get being worried and skeptical about where your money is going, especially when it involves hot button political issues, but some of these posts are, like, actually heartless.

[mdhwrites]

The Problem With Aventurine

Penacony Spoilers:

I saw someone talking about how even someone who wishes for the education of all and tries to speak as if he's enlightened like Aventurine still treats him with prejudice. Still mocks him for his enslavement. Still brings up his past and his race. Still calls him an idiot, things others will do too.

The problem is that Aventurine IS a fucking moron.

Sparkle describes his race's stereotype, explicitly to point out that he's keeping to it, and it's effectively DESCRIBING HIM, at least presented so far. Ratio actually DID want to still work with him. When Aventurine pushed back on him, he asked what his plan was and Aventurine just decided to be a cryptic asshole to his ONE ALLY. So when he then whines "Guess I'm alone again," it rings false because OF COURSE Ratio wasn't about to go along with someone who had no plan and wasn't willing to give him information, WHY WOULD HE!?

And worse yet, I never get the impression Ratio is wrong in his assessment in this entire patch. As a manipulator, Aventurine just fucking blows. He has little charisma, only ever tries to use leverage against others and is far too blunt about it instead of actually creating a web to ensnare someone in, resorts way too quickly to straight up intimidation and threats and rarely ever brings up what the other person actually stands to gain. It's just "You're going to be useful to me! Or else." Stuff like that... Makes me agree with Ratio. If you don't have your magic devices and your cash gifts to bribe people, why would ANYONE here listen to you?

The only person in the entire patch who does gives their reasoning for this says this:

"I trust him because he is a good businessman and they deal in contracts and honesty."

And that caused me to just kind of stare at the so far smartest character in the patch like she'd suddenly lost every brain cell she ever had. Black Swan has almost certainly had to deal with people telling her about scammers, loopholes their bosses took in order to fuck them over or simply unfair contracts they were forced into because a 'good businessman' needed the extra profit for his shareholders. What in god's name possessed the writing team to include this line, especially in a game that loves to poke fun at capitalism and capitalists?

There's two things this causes him to come across as: The first is that he hasn't had to actually negotiate with others in like a decade. He's used to finding someone he can bribe, throw so much money at them they'll ignore the issues with the offer and move the fuck on. He literally tries to buy our friendship if you talk to him as an optional objective to a quest. That's not a joke or overexaggeration even. If you turn down the money, he throws twice as much at you and you ACTUALLY GET IT. And this is BEFORE he has explicitly tried to threaten, and seem one second from potentially drowning, you in your own dream pool just because you're being slightly difficult.

The other thing it makes him come across as is someone's favorite character. Someone on the writing team has SO MUCH confidence about Aventurine. They made him the main character of this story. They made him have every answer, to the point where he knows a place made of memories better than the MEMOKEEPER because Black Swan implies she doesn't know whatever secret he's keeping. He gets to quote himself SUPER AWKWARDLY (you do not quote a paragraph of yourself for a big reveal. It's slow, it's meandering and it has no impact very quickly, let alone when the lines aren't that interesting) before showing how he's going to unravel EVERYTHING... Because he was lucky enough to stumble upon a corpse that absolutely shouldn't be there and has been dead for at least ha;f an hour probably.

(For those curious as to why: Aventurine has no leverage on us or anything to reveal until he has his truth. As such, he wouldn't have talked to Black Swan about grabbing us until then. The LATEST he could have talked to her for that is between our first encounter with Death and when we talk to Black Swan with Himeko. So yeah, Robin has been dead, somehow, for that entire time despite Firefly instantly popping. I know it's drama but if you dislike Firefly's death AT ALL, it only cheapens Firefly and Robin even more because you'll spend the micro-second thinking about this.)

He is only a mastermind, with JUST the right ally, because the writers say so. This doesn't even get into how his biggest character quirk, being a gambler, is straight up untrue so far. A gambler takes risks. One of Aventurine's proudest lines is "I don't make deals I'm going to lose." THEN YOU'RE NOT A GAMBLER. You're just a very safe businessman. But supposedly you only got here because you're willing to take 100:1 odds that no one else is but good luck ever seeing that happen.

He is too much guided by the hand of the author and too much of an asshole for me to enjoy. I'm not even going to say there's nothing there. Parts of his presentation are good. I like that people actually can hurt him emotionally. That he is trying to be a good manipulator, he just needs a wake up call. I actually mostly liked Aventurine... Until the game said "No. Aventurine is actually as good as he thinks he is."

And sorry but that's not who you wrote and Star Rail thinking it's writing really smart characters who are actually dumbasses is a problem with it I'm already getting tired of.

======+++++======

I'll admit I didn't include enough evidence with some of Aventurine's issues. This blog fixes that, going in deep on how he leans into the stereotype we are told of his people, how his actions are stupid, etc. like that with a lot more proper referencing back to events.

I have a public Discord for any and all who want to join!

I also have an Amazon page for all of my original works in various forms of character focused romances from cute, teenage romance to erotica series of my past. I have an Ao3 for my fanfiction projects as well if that catches your fancy instead. If you want to hang out with me, I stream from time to time and love to chat with chat.

A Twitter you can follow too

And a Kofi if you like what I do and want to help out with the fact that disability doesn’t pay much.

[llamaisllama777]

THE WEEKLY*/DAILY* LAES,TSAMS,EAPS REVIEW!!!

Ladies and gentlemen....

They are back!

I am so happy that LAES is back! This is my favorite of the shows. Sorry, tsams, it just is.

Okay, on to the episode

Monty, Sun, Lunar, and Moon are playing Mario party. It's nice having them all play together all friendly-like just for fun and not for content.

Earth is freaking out. Just like us.

Earth's upset because her and Lunar just basically lost all the memory's they made and Lunar is just over here like "MY MONEY!"

It's nice to have them comfort Earth cause not gonna lie, I would be freaking out too. They gone for 3 weeks!

And it looks like we missed "his" arrival.

Taurus.

Dang, you, YouTube.

Just when their plot was starting to develop.

Lunar and Earth basically get told [Beep] off by what I can only assume is a YouTube agent. Twice.

I wonder if youtube was that jerky to the creators in real life? I mean, probably not but still.

Lunar and Monty casually bashing the other love that. And Earth agreeing with Lunar love that 🤣 I mean they're not wrong Monty.

Also, I love how they censored the spoilers by bleeping them. I want to know what they're saying.

I loved the ending, all of them just chilling while they wait for the channel to come back. Heartwarming. I hope the creators at least got a little rest while they waited for the channel to come back.

Someone in the comments also decoded what what Moon is saying and what the computer is saying. It translate to "Wait until you see what we got planned for tomorrow" and "Wait until you see what happens this week" or something along those lines. We are in for one crazy week.

Taurus is coming/is here.

Not only is LAES back, but so are the gaming videos... maybe. Having Old Moon and Solar play together is nice. Old Moon may not be "Solar's Moon," but they still work well together. I like having them bond. It's neat. I love having the gaming videos back, even if it's temporary. 😊

Lefty... buddy.. pal... never say those words ever again.

11/10 I'm so happy LAES is back!!!!!!

-------------------------------------------------------

Oh.. you're still here? Sit down let's talk a bit.

Enjoy the rant about YouTube.

YouTube really messed up things didn't they? Three weeks, no laes. Look, YouTube is dumb.. but I didn't think they were this dumb!

YouTube, you guys need to FIX YOUR POO!

We could have lost The Lunar and Earth show!

Thank The Lord we didn't.

But this was too close a call! youtube has done a lot of dumb things, but this is the final straw for me! I was okay when you took away the dislike button. I was fine when you started not showing me the notifications for things, but then you didn't respond for a long time when a certain incident happened. And it took you way too long to respond and retaliate. Wow. Alright, I don't like you anymore. Then THIS! THIS!

This. Was. My. Final. Straw. I love these shows and if you go after one of them you might as well go after all of them!

You claim they're scammers. They're not. They don't have any connection to those knock-offs!

You say the show is "Too violent".... really.

We never see Evelyn's death! We never see the July 16th incident! This is like one of the most kid-friendly fnaf series ever. And you take them down!

I don't want anyone to get taken down, but if you were, why not go after one of the more violent fnaf series. Like that one series where William is a cannibal or baddington's series. No, you go after them.

YouTube, you are a hypocrite. You never learn. You may never learn until some other company makes a rival to YouTube and starts stealing your business will you?

I think we all need to start giving YouTube more scrutiny cause they need to learn to actually do their job and not rely on some bot. * Please note that we have no idea if a bot from YouTube is the reason why laes got deleted, but it's the most likely theory.

If you think YouTube is doing something wrong. Don't be afraid to speak up.

Thank you for coming to my Tedtalk.

[goldenlaquer]

wait wait wait can we go back to yato seiji???? like what kinda interactions would he have with abuto and kamui and yan now that they’re all the same race?

Mmm it's the remix 😔🎶 Yato!Seiji is still a loner. Still a troublemaker too, but instead of being confined to just Edo, he's made the whole universe his playground.

Still a self-proclaimed intergalactic playboy, but actually the intergalactic reject— absolutely no maidens whatsoever, across any race, human, yato, and even gorilla.

Still a money loving, snake-oil salesman scammer. Still a putrid, slippery eel of a bastard with a flippant, could-care-less attitude. All of that hasn't changed. Roll. Eyes.

All Yato are strong, but it's hard to gauge exactly how powerful Seiji is. He's such a ridiculous, larger-than-life character, and unlike most of his brethren, Seiji has no real interest in killing in general ("where's all the fun if they're dead?"). You probably wouldn't even guess he's Yato if it weren't for the way he playfully picks up trees to hurl at Gintoki or makes his own entrances by casually walking through Yorozuya walls. Only sometimes might you get the shivering feeling that he might be more of a monster than he lets on.

Kamui and Seiji. Both smiley bastards. Kamui thinks Seiji barely makes a worthy opponent; he's an annoying fly that's somewhat impossible to kill, but doesn't that make you want to try and kill him even more?— is Kamui's thought process. Seiji declines the fight every time (he has no interest in men, he says) and besides, Kamui to him is a 'kiddo' or 'brat', 'where's the respect for your elders?' He teases Kamui at the risk of his life and slips away before Kamui gets his hands on him.

Abuto thinks Seiji's one real troublesome dude to deal with ("Oi, don't rile up my captain too much. I'm the one who has to deal with it, you know?). A clash of verbal play-on witticisms between them, but other than that they're both pretty neutral about each other.

Seiji calls Yan a 'big oaf'. Yan stays up at night, fretting about it.

[walkingstackofbooks]

DS9 2x11 Rivals thoughts (rewatching, so possible future spoilers)

OH, YES, I've been looking forward to this one, the first step towards Miles-Julian friendship, right? :D (It's a Julian episode, care to guess how often I'm going to tell you I love him?... 😅 Too many times probably 😬)

Cold-open: oh yeah, I think I really enjoyed this scammer plotline too last time ^^

I shouldn't be quite so amused at Julian's accidental swearing at Miles, but it is right there.

Again, this manages to make so much sense after Julian's genetic engineering reveal - he beat a Vulcan! If I didn't know it was a lst-minute addition, I'd be praising how well they subtly wove it in for years before the plot happened!

Julian's such an awkward bean and I love him

...tfw your cellmate dies on you.

I love how deadpan this dude is, he's great

Oh, Miles <3

IT'S SO WEIRD Miles calling him Bashir, not Julian

Keiko, my love. This was a brief appearance but I appreciated seeing you.

I love Julian and Jadzia just being friends? I want to read more fic of them just being besties, cos they are

This entire scene is amazing; and the sauce not working? Perfection.

"That's too young to die!" You dramatic little so-and-so XD

Julian just wants to be friends with the chief, bless him, he's a good egg really!

'Don't trust a man wearing a better suit than your own' NAH, your suit is way better, Quark

HOW IS JULIAN THIS BAD AN ACTOR. My goodness, man you don't have to miss a shot by a mile to lose. I despair...

Quark so desperately trying to shut down this dude's business. "He's a con-artist, a crook." "One more won't make much difference." Really, Quark, what did you expect?

Quark is so shook up by Rom's departure...

"He shaves the latinum." "I do not... (offscreen) Not much!" These two I swear

SHE is a GREAT con artist and I am HERE FOR IT

"I slipped on the ball?" Julian ever the doctor wanting to check Miles out... <3

Oh, Julian sounds so sad about having to go and not wanting a rematch. He really wanted this to work. Sweetheart

"Tell me your problems, all of them." Oh Quark you just have to be the best at everything don't you? And of course you'll think of a scheme while you're at it.

"My terminal just self-destructed." Wow.

"You make your own luck" *off screen bump* DS9 has got this comedy thing down :P

And naturally, everyone hits the jackpot at once. Man, luck episodes are so much fun, I really am enjoying this one.

Julian and Miles' confused faces while Quark sets up the match. And their realisation it'll be hard to refuse once the war orphans are mentioned. Oh I love this so much!

Julian's really upset about this. I guess he has reasons for not wanting to play in front of folk, huh? In case someone spots how weirdly good he is, perhaps? > Maybe he's showing off with all his preparation and warm-up exercises - even for Miles - as some sort of explanation for his ability; "he just prepares well and is really into it all, honest!"

Julian's not quite as naïve as Quark thinks he is, and good for him!

Oh boy, he has had it with Quark's interference.

Aww, he's so pleased and surprised by the handshake! :3

Their confused faces at the ball not obeying physics! These two!

Okay so Miles looks like Thor, right, while he's just standing there waiting for the ball to get back in his hand XD

"Not impossible, just extremely improbable." Jadzia you gem

This last scene is ace, the crooks all getting their comeuppances and Quark's enjoyment of the whole situation while the dude (yeah I never learnt his name shh) still manages to get money out of him XD

Okay that episode is EXCELLENT, I thoroughly enjoy all plots in it, it's very very good.

[alecpittman]

of the Best Apps for Video Dating

Every relationship seems to have its own arrangement; no rules govern how dating should go. Other apps like Bumble and Hinge have also recently stopped requiring people have Facebook accounts to sign up. Meanwhile, the old standby dates, like going to the movie theater, are getting increasingly expensive. Some etiquette books say you should be honest and perhaps suggest "going Dutch" up front, where both parties pay for the date, while others say you should wait to ask someone out until you've saved up enough money to pay for the other person. נערות ליווי ברמת גן Creative date ideas can involve something as simple as going on a bike ride together and packing a picnic lunch to enjoy at a park. Bumble is free to use, but you can pay £20.99 a month for Bumble Boost which gives you extra privileges. Need a confidence boost with quicker results? Knowing there were treatments that could (and did) help them gain confidence and a new perspective, I felt compelled to write a book about the skills that help people get past social anxiety. Being a knowledgeable, wealthy person, knowing exactly what are you looking for in a partner.

These technical safeguards are the strongest privacy protections because unlike national laws, the laws of mathematics cannot be changed or altered. In this chapter I argue that IndieWeb’s technical standards and building blocks support building approaches that balance commensurability and independence. Most clearly, the POSSE1 model explicitly supports the ability of IndieWeb sites to co-exist alongside the corporate Web, as discussed in Chapter 7. In Chapter 1, I drew on Atton (2002) to make a distinction between oppositional and alternative practices. It can certainly make for an embarrassing first impression to reveal your financial woes to someone. And if you’ve been communicating with someone by email, check their address at a site such as Romance Scams, which compiles lists of email addresses belonging to known scammers. This trend seems to be a reflection of today's society where teens constantly search for someone they can truly relate too. So, today's independent-minded teenage girl faces a conflicting decision, indeed. Before it was common for suitors to "ask a girl out," men actually expressed their interest by calling on the girl at her family's home.

Relationships are not structured and a girl doesn't get mad if her "boyfriend" doesn't call every night. And, per People magazine, Cabello and her boyfriend of more than a year broke up just a few days later. Many of us, both guys and girls equally, seem to be avoiding having the label of "boyfriend" or "girlfriend." It's about being a teenager and having fun with a guy you like so I tend to notice that many high school relationships consist of simply "hanging out" and bonding with that person you like. I think I would like to adopt a child whether I am married or not and this will probably be when I am older than the average parent is today. It will take some creativity, however. Guys, take heed and listen to your slightly older peers: It's completely acceptable to spend time on your appearance. Rather than wishing bad things on the couples, fans route for them to connect during their time as strangers. Over the past year, they've been on-and-off more times then I can count, and while they aren't together right now, fans are still enamored by their complicated relationship.

Because we dated even before his debut, some fans knew me. And this convention actually hasn't been around all too long. However, now that women make their own money, some believe this will change the dating convention. At the very least, etiquette now dictates that whoever asks for the date is responsible for paying. Talk about a cheap date -- though it did, of course, come with watchful chaperoning. I'm sure in the 50s and 60s people NEVER kissed on the first date. A lot of people are skeptical at first but then can’t leave the service before they find the one and only. You may have to meet a few duds before you find a great match. If your hygiene skills have been below par so far, it's not too late to get a fresh start. Now that you’ve gotten the primers out of the way, it’s time to get a tad more specific. But now archaeologists studying, say, the development of agriculture across the continents are able to determine how different societies stacked up against one another throughout the millennia. If you are interested in international online dating, take care of your profile and try to catch girls’ attention.

[drawnecromancy]

So, a little while ago, @hannahs-kudos gave me this little prompt based on my username. It's a really fun one, so I thought I'd use it a little. I'm going to put it under a cut - it's 556 words long, so not the longest read, but I'm not certain how it'll come up with Tumblr's format ! Enjoy C:

A tall man put a foot on his chair, boasting loudly to everyone who would hear it :

- I only have to draw someone to bring them back from the dead.

His announcement led to him a few curious glances from other people in the tavern, and a stern, “please shut up” look from both the bartender and a bard who was supposed to perform tonight. With a frown on their face, the bard approached, putting their instrument down on the table and saying just as loudly as the first one spoke earlier :

- Last time you tried that, you started the apocalypse.

The first one’s smile disappeared as some whispers could be heard in the tavern. More eyes came upon the both of them. The boasting one locked eyes with the bard.

- Oh ? Remind me who had summoned that endlessly hungry god ?

- It didn’t start the-

- IT DID, I wouldn’t have summoned so many corpses if this hadn’t been your fault-

Now the conversation was getting crunchy, and a circle was slowly forming around both people. With pinched lips, the bartender was considering whether or not he’d have to call the guard about a bar fight in a few minutes. He could already see from here the broken glass he’d have to spend at least two hours cleaning up, and having to buy new chairs, and tables, and…

- MY fault ? That god wouldn’t have asked you SHIT if you hadn’t been boasting about your stupid skill like you’re doing now-

- IT WOULD HAVE EATEN THE ENTIRE PARTY.

Their back and forth was intensifying as people attempted to get more information out of them, hoping that the arguing would turn into something bigger. In a corner, as people asked questions and the two protagonists answered them angrily, a silhouette in a cloak was already helping people place bets.

At one point, after painstakingly recounting their encounter with several elder gods and an apocalyptic summoning of the dead, the bard yelled out :

- If you’re SO insistent on being right, let’s take this outside, you asshole !

They kept yelling at each other even as they strode towards the street, cutting into the mass of people that would soon follow them outside. As they left, the bartender let out a sigh of relief. He wouldn’t have to clean up any mess tonight.

The now writhing crowd engulfed itself in the door behind the pair, yelling encouragements to their favorites, and behind all those people the cloaked figure still took bets. Apparently, the bragging “necromancer” was tonight’s favorite. No one noticed the cloaked person smirk as they collected the betting money. The crowd was far too focused on its stars.

And even then the bard and the other one were still yelling at each other as if they were attempting to make the crowd wait on purpose, but people were too excited for a fight, and when the bard finally threw the first punch about half of the crowd cheered as the other half booed, making so much noise and attracting attention from poor neighbors that the cloaked figure slipped away without anyone noticing.

About an hour and a half later, on the road to the next town, three scammers shared their well-earned money of the night.

[letters-from-the-three-houses]

Your headcanons are such a delight to read! I know you wrote a little fic about them, but I'm curious about what headcanons you have about Edelgard x Dimitri! If you don't wish to do it that's fine :). How long will your requests be open for by the way?

(scenario in question for those who want to see it)

thank you so much!! i bumped this ask up in priority because i already have headcanons for dimigard (or whatever we want to call it) lying in my documents, and it’s a good question that others might be curious about. the answer’s under the read more for those who just want to read the headcanons :)

enjoy~

since dimitri’s so polite and friendly to everyone, he’s the type to listen to scammers and door-to-door merchants

he doesn’t accept their offers

but he does give them the time of day

and they’ll have a nice, long chat about whatever

sometimes it devolves into their life story

he listens long enough to the point where he can name their family and childhood pets

most of the time, they do this to gain sympathy and make him more likely to say yes (he never does)

but ever since he and edelgard got together, the shady ones have been weeded out

she glares at them behind dimitri’s back, silently saying, ‘fool him and i will break you’

so the only people that talk to him now are the genuinely nice folks

she still shakes her head every time and doesn’t understand how he can be so approachable

(it’s one of the things she likes about him though)

they’re always doing something productive

study dates are common

you can bet that even if they look like they’re ‘sitting around’

they’re doing work

that said, dimitri gets distracted all the time though bc edelgard’s really pretty when she concentrates

they disagree with each other a lot

“this works better than—”

“that’s not right because—”

“what you’re saying doesn’t make sense if—”

their perspectives clash all the time

but at the end of the day, they always compromise and move on

(except when they don’t)

(because they can get equally stubborn)

(those go on for days)

there’s no heat behind their fights though, just a respectful 'i think you’re mistaken’

it’s odd to outsiders bc it seems like they don’t get along, but it’s impressive to watch two opposite ideas mesh together

they’re not overly romantic

not even in private

but they’ve learned to pick up cues that tell them what the other is thinking

dimitri gives back hugs whenever she’s upset (she feels uncomfortable showing weakness so he’ll avoid looking at her eye-to-eye)

and edelgard comforts him with words and soft whispers (she knows he likes concrete affirmation so she becomes more direct)

their faith in each other is unwavering

“trust me”

“i already do”

it doesn’t stop them from worrying about each other in dangerous situations

but if they have each other, they think they can face whatever comes their way

[asks are open!]

question time!

in theory, they’ll always be open. the open/closed status is kind of misleading, when i think about it. i add it to the end of my posts as an invitation to talk to me/send stuff whenever, and i added it to the blog description because it was intended to soft cap the amount of asks sitting around. it’s just to make sure everyone who sends something in will get it in a timely manner (i.e. ‘closing’ the inbox would show others that i’ve got a lot on my plate and the waiting times are long)

realistically though, opening or closing requests won’t change the waiting times because i answer them first come first serve. for example:

asks are chronologically put on a list of things to do

inbox receives an ungodly amount of asks and closes

people wait for it to open (= inbox clear)

process repeats

they still wait the same amount of time to get a request done. the only difference is the pandemonium that occurs whenever the inbox is reopened

so with that in mind, i’ll change it to show the amount of asks sitting around instead! i think it’ll be fun watching the numbers change (and it might deter the more empathetic folks from sending stuff in bc they’ll see how much i have to do so they’ll feel bad about their request and therefore i’ll get less asks jk jk, don’t be shy to send stuff in even if the number is high)

i’m a full-time uni student taking 6(!!!) courses this semester though, and in conjunction with my slow writing, it does take a while for me to finish requests ;;

hopefully as we get closer to the release date, there’ll be more fe3h request blogs so the workload will spread out, but for now, we’ll have to deal with just me!

[neptunecreek]

Sextortion Scam: What to Do If You Get the Latest Phishing Spam Demanding Bitcoin

You may have arrived at this post because you received an email from a purported hacker who is demanding payment or else they will send compromising information—such as pictures sexual in nature—to all you friends and family. You’re searching for what to do in this frightening situation.

Don’t panic. Contrary to the claims in your email, you haven't been hacked (or at least, that's not what prompted that email). This is merely a new variation on an old scam which is popularly being called "sextortion." This is a type of online phishing that is targeting people around the world and preying off digital-age fears.

We’ll talk about a few steps to take to protect yourself, but the first and foremost piece of advice we have: do not pay the ransom.

We have pasted a few examples of these emails at the bottom of this post. The general gist is that a hacker claims to have compromised your computer and says they will release embarrassing information—such as images of you captured through your web camera or your pornographic browsing history—to your friends, family, and co-workers.  The hacker promises to go away if you send them thousands of dollars, usually with bitcoin.

What makes the email especially alarming is that, to prove their authenticity, they begin the emails showing you a password you once used or currently use.

Again, this still doesn't mean you've been hacked. The scammers in this case likely matched up a database of emails and stolen passwords and sent this scam out to potentially millions of people, hoping that enough of them would be worried enough and pay out that the scam would become profitable.

EFF researched some of the bitcoin wallets being used by the scammers. Of the five wallets we looked at only one had received any bitcoin, in total about 0.5 bitcoin or $4,000 at the time of this writing.  It’s hard to say how much the scammers have received in total at this point since they appear to be using different bitcoin addresses for each attack, but it’s clear that at least some people are already falling for this scam.

Here are some quick  answers to the questions many people ask after receiving these emails.

They have my password! How did they get my password?

Unfortunately, in the modern age, data breaches are common and massive sets of passwords make their way to the criminal corners of the Internet. Scammers likely obtained such a list for the express purpose of including a kernel of truth in an otherwise boilerplate mass email.

If the password emailed to you is one that you still use, in any context whatsoever,  STOP USING IT and change it NOW! And regardless of whether or not you still use that password it's always a good idea to use a password manager.

And of course, you should always change your password when you’re alerted that your information has been leaked in a breach. You can also use a service like Have I Been Pwned to check whether you have been part of one of the more well-known password dumps.

Should I respond to the email?

Absolutely not. With this type of scam, the perpetrator relies on the likelihood that a small number of people will respond out of a batch of potentially millions. Fundamentally this isn't that much different from the old Nigerian prince scam, just with a different hook. By default they expect most people will not even open the email, let alone read it. But once they get a response—and a conversation is initiated—they will likely move into a more advanced stage of the scam. It’s better to not respond at all.

So,  I shouldn’t pay the ransom?

You should not pay the ransom. If you pay the ransom, you’re not only losing money but you’re encouraging the scammers to continue phishing other people. If you do pay, then the scammers may also use that as a pressure point to continue to blackmail you, knowing that you’re are susceptible.

What should I do instead?

As we said before, for sure stop using the password that the scammer used in the phishing email, and consider employing a password manager to keep your passwords strong and unique. Moving forward, you should make sure to enable two-factor authentication whenever that is an option on your online accounts. You can also check out our Surveillance Self-Defense guide for more tips on how to protect your security and privacy online.

One other thing to do to protect yourself is apply a cover over your computer’s camera. We offer some through our store, but a small strip of electrical tape will do.

We know this experience isn't fun, but it's also not the end of the world. Just ignore the scammers' empty threats and practice good password hygiene going forward!

Example 1

I am aware one of your passphrase: password. Lets get directly to point. Not a single person has compensated me to investigate about you. You do not know me and you are probably wondering why you're getting this e mail?actually, I actually installed a software on the adult vids (sex sites) site and you know what, you visited this web site to have fun (you know what I mean). When you were viewing videos, your internet browser initiated working as a Remote control Desktop that has a key logger which provided me access to your display screen and also web cam. Right after that, my software program collected your complete contacts from your Messenger, FB, and email . After that I created a double-screen video. 1st part shows the video you were viewing (you've got a good taste haha . . .), and 2nd part shows the view of your webcam, and its u.  You do have only 2 alternatives. We are going to understand these types of choices in aspects: 1st solution is to disregard this message. In this case, I am going to send your actual video clip to just about all of your contacts and thus you can easily imagine about the disgrace you feel. Not to mention should you be in a relationship, just how it will eventually affect? Number two choice will be to pay me $3000. We will think of it as a donation. As a consequence, I most certainly will without delay eliminate your videotape. You will keep going on your daily life like this never happened and you will not hear back again from me. You'll make the payment through Bitcoin (if you do not know this, search for "how to buy bitcoin" in Google).

Example 2

Hi, victim.I write yоu becаusе I put а mаlware оn the wеb раge with porn whiсh yоu hаve visitеd.My virus grаbbed all your рersonal infо аnd turnеd on yоur сamеrа which сaрtured the рroсеss оf your onаnism. Just aftеr that the soft savеd yоur соntaсt list.I will dеlеte thе сompromising video and infо if you pаy me 999 USD in bitcoin. This is address fоr рaymеnt : 1K2jNTLdbHEwaALQWKMeGoKLWD67Cb6q8BI give yоu 30 hоurs aftеr you ореn my mеssаge for making the trаnsactiоn.As sоon аs yоu reаd the mеssаgе I'll see it right awаy.It is nоt necessary tо tell mе thаt you hаve sеnt money to me. This address is соnneсtеd tо yоu, my systеm will dеlete еverything automаtically aftеr trаnsfer соnfirmаtiоn.If yоu nееd 48 h just reрly оn this letter with +.Yоu сan visit thе pоlicе stаtion but nobоdy cаn hеlp yоu.If you try to dеceive mе , I'll sеe it right аway !I dont live in yоur соuntry. So they саn nоt track my lосаtiоn evеn for 9 months.Goodbyе. Dоnt fоrget аbоut thе shame and tо ignore, Yоur life can be ruined.

Example 3

𝕨hat's up. If you were more vigilant while playing with yourself, I wouldn't worry you. I don't think that playing with yourself is very bad, but when all colleagues, relatives and friends get video record of it- it is obviously for u. I adjusted virus on a porn web-site which you have visited. When the victim press on a play button, device begins recording the screen and all cameras on your device starts working. мoreover, my program makes a dedicated desktop supplied with key logger function from your device , so I could get all contacts from ya e-mail, messengers and other social networks. I've chosen this e-mail cuz It's your working address, so u should read it. Ì think that 730 usd is pretty enough for this little false. I made a split screen vid(records from screen (u have interesting tastes ) and camera ooooooh... its awful ᾷF) Ŝo its your choice, if u want me to erase this сompromising evidence use my ƅitсȯin wᾷllеt aďdrеss-  1JEjgJzaWAYYXsyVvU2kTTgvR9ENCAGJ35  Ƴou have one day after opening my message, I put the special tracking pixel in it, so when you will open it I will know.If ya want me to share proofs with ya, reply on this message and I will send my creation to five contacts that I've got from ur contacts. P.S... You can try to complain to cops, but I don't think that they can solve ur problem, the investigation will last for several months- I'm from Estonia - so I dgf LOL

Example 4

I know, password, is your pass word. You may not know me and you're most likely wondering why you are getting this e mail, correct? In fact, I placed a malware on the adult vids (porn material) web-site and you know what, you visited this website to have fun (you know what I mean). While you were watching video clips, your internet browser initiated operating as a RDP (Remote Desktop) that has a keylogger which provided me access to your screen and also webcam. Immediately after that, my software program gathered your entire contacts from your Messenger, social networks, as well as email. What did I do? I made a double-screen video. 1st part shows the video you were watching (you have a good taste lmao), and 2nd part shows the recording of your webcam. exactly what should you do?

Well, I believe, $2900 is a fair price for our little secret. You'll make the payment by Bitcoin (if you don't know this, search "how to buy bitcoin" in Google). BTC Address: 1MQNUSnquwPM9eQgs7KtjDcQZBfaW7iVge (It is cAsE sensitive, so copy and paste it) Note: You have one day in order to make the payment. (I have a specific pixel in this email message, and at this moment I know that you have read through this email message). If I do not get the BitCoins, I will definitely send out your video recording to all of your contacts including family members, coworkers, etc. However, if I do get paid, I'll destroy the video immidiately. If you want to have evidence, reply with "Yes!" and I will certainly send out your video to your 14 contacts. This is the non-negotiable offer, so please don't waste my personal time and yours by responding to this email message.

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