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Hackers are hunting for your private photos, FBI warns: 6 ways to avoid a sextortion nightmare
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Storing sexually explicit photos of yourself on social media or personal accounts is never a great idea. That's especially true now as the FBI is warning about hackers stealing and selling such images.
In an advisory published on Monday, the FBI said that sexual exploitation hackers are targeting both adults and minors by illegally hacking into their social media and personal accounts to grab explicit images. From there, the attackers sell the images on the dark web, often accompanied by personal details such as the victim's name, date of birth, email address, and phone number.
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Once the personal images and details are up for grabs on the dark web, a criminal can exploit them to run sexual extortion (aka, sextortion) schemes in which they blackmail the targeted person. That re-victimizes the victim, causing them further pain and grief.
Hackers typically use various social engineering and cyber intrusion methods to gain access to the social media and personal accounts of their targets. In its advisory, the FBI highlighted three different tactics.
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To avoid becoming a victim of these schemes, the FBI offers the following tips: