{"id":13511,"date":"2019-06-18T21:25:48","date_gmt":"2019-06-19T01:25:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/me-en.kaspersky.com\/blog\/spam-extortion-reputation\/13511\/"},"modified":"2020-03-27T15:50:53","modified_gmt":"2020-03-27T11:50:53","slug":"spam-extortion-reputation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/me-en.kaspersky.com\/blog\/spam-extortion-reputation\/13511\/","title":{"rendered":"Spammers are threatening companies’ websites"},"content":{"rendered":"

Extortionists are constantly inventing new blackmail strategies. Until recently, their main trick was \u201csextortion,\u201d which you may already have read about<\/a>. However, as happens with most cyberthreats, criminals\u2019 attention began to shift from users to organizations. That is not surprising \u2014 there is much more money in business.<\/p>\n

Not long ago, our spam filters began catching a new version of blackmail letters. At this time, they threaten to undermine the reputation of the websites of small and medium-size companies. The scheme is quite simple: They send letters to victims\u2019 public addresses (or submit them using their website \u201ccontact us\u201d form), demanding a transfer of a small (by business standards) amount of 0.3 to 0.5 bitcoins to their bitcoin wallet. (At the time of this writing, the amount was never more than the equivalent of $4,200).<\/p>\n

What are they threatening?<\/h2>\n

These cybercriminals are trying to impress their victims with large numbers. Their threats are as follows:<\/p>\n