This one is the scariest phishing emails I've seen, it was sent to one of my clients called Sophia (I'll withhold her other name for privacy). She was so terrified that she even briefly attempted to abandon my email hosting services altogether.

It took a lot of reassurance and convincing, and to be honest, some poor performance and incopitence from the alternative provider she'd jumped to, for her to trust me again.

And you know what? I don't blame her. That email was genuinely terrifying. If you're not familiar with phishing scams, or if you're even slightly faint-hearted, you'd probably fall for it too:

Greetings,

I am sorry, but I have to start with the bad news.

A few months ago, I gained access to your account linked to OS, and therefore to all the devices you use for internet browsing.

Then it was easy for me to install special software on all your devices that tracked your every keystroke and mouse movement.

After that, gaining access to your personal e-mail was no longer a problem.

I'm not a genius or a brilliant hacker. You are just completely careless about digital hygiene and internet safety.

You seem to be completely unaware of incognito tabs, VPN, TOR, and clicking on suspicious email links.

And here is the point of my email - I have accessed not only your browser history and files but also your webcam.

Not only did I record you pleasuring yourself watching a video of highly controversial content, but I also got all your digital conversations.

Lest you think it's some fake editing, some of the footage of you is duplicated from several of your devices.

Everything you value - your friends', coworkers', and family's opinion of you - is jeopardized.

You've spent a long time building your reputation as a decent and responsible person.

Neither you nor I want to destroy it in one click.

The click which will send everyone you know, love and respect a questionable video with you and the most "remarkable" records from your browser history.

I hope you've begun to realize that I can turn your former life into shame and embarrassment in one moment.

However, I am a rational person and I don't want to make anyone suffer for the sake of suffering, so we can make a deal.

You need to transfer $1300 USD bitcoin equivalent to this BTC crypto wallet: 1MkcR6dwYFvP62X4E1sR6383iFxDFVpXu9

It's a very small amount for not losing the reputation you've been developing for years, maybe even decades.

Once I receive payment, I will delete all materials once and for all.

Since I monitor all your PC and mobile activity, I'll notice when you send the payment as well as when you read this email.

You have 48 hours to make a payment, starting from the moment you open this e-mail.

I'm a man of my word, you can trust me, otherwise, I would have published it long time ago. Some advice in advance:

- Don't reply to this letter. This email was sent from a randomly generated address.

- Don't call the police or any other authorities. As soon as I notice you're trying to contact them,  the videos will be published online. In addition to that, crypto wallets are anonymous, so no one will ever track me.

- Don't try to reinstall your system or reset your device. As I mentioned, as soon as I get a notification of such activity, I will post all the materials.

I'm sorry that we had to meet under such circumstances, but fate is fate.

Adios, senor. I hope this is the last time we interact.

P.S. Kind reminder: please be more careful about your internet security from now on, and then you will never run into such situations.