It has been months since the famous infidelity website Ashley Madison was hacked, which led to the leak of over 32 million user accounts, internal company documents, and a report of two suicides. Three months later, the story continues to unfold, and it seems to have taken a more personal and physical approach.
Since the leak of user data happened, opportunistic people have taken the time to blackmail Ashley Madison users, threatening them that they will share their personal data with their significant others, unless they pay 1.0000001 Bitcoin. And in a recent report by Graham Cluley, it seems blackmailers are now targeting people via snail mail, sending physical letters to the homes of the hacked users.
A reader has sent Cluley an email regarding receiving a certain letter asking for $4167, or else his Ashley Madison account will be revealed to his loved ones. It reads:
However, it was not disclosed how many people have so far received physical letters from the blackmailers.
Cluley acknowledges the idea that it could be very troubling for the hacked users to receive such a message through the mail, and that the blackmailers are trying to see who will fall for the trap and resort to paying a very large sum of money, in exchange for the secrecy of their information. However, he advises people not to pay up, and report it to the officials instead, then use the sent mail to be used as evidence against the perpetrators.
Whether or not the Ashley Madison hacking story will develop even further is still unknown. The best a person can do, is pay a watchful eye over blackmailers who do not do anything other than play on the fears of the most susceptible of people.
Source: Graham Cluley