On Wed, 16 Dec 2020 at 06:27, Tim via users <users@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
David:
>> If you check your spam folder in your email program you might find
>> services that brag about having your password and they really do
>> have it. Some will show it to you as proof they have more
>> information about you.
Andre Robatino:
> Unless they show it to you, they don't have it. The only other thing
> preventing it would be ethics, which they obviously don't have.
I've seen those scam emails on a friend's computer, they did reveal a
password, but I don't know if it was a real one. They try to blackmail
you by saying they've filmed you doing something illegal using your own
webcam. Not having a webcam, and seeing the same form email on more
than one occasion, just shows that it's a widespread scam.
They get their passwords from hacked websites, ones with crappy
security, and probably where lazy people use poor passwords, too.
It just goes to show why you shouldn't use the same password in
different places (one simple exploit ruins everything). And while some
people might think that their email password is unimportant because
they don't do anything with their email that's private or they consider
a security risk, if someone else impersonates you that can cause you a
hell of lot of grief.
There are services like https://haveibeenpwned.com/ that check passwords
against captured databases. Google will warn you if a password saved in
Chrome appears in one of the stolen password databases. When this
was introduced it detected couple stolen passwords that I used used with sites
that either went out of business or were taken over by "bad actors". I think
a number of other password managers can also check against the databases.
George N. White III
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