The “You may not know me” scam has been circling the Internet these past few days, trying to scare people that their e-mail account got breached and that its password is now in the hands of experienced hackers. People receiving the message are demanded to pay a ransom fee in Bitcoin (the sum varying around 695 US dollars). Do not pay the money in any case as that will not help you. Read on what you must do in case you are truly breached, but keep in mind that in most cases this is a total scam.
Threat Summary
| Name | You may not know me |
| Type | Email Scam Message |
| Short Description | A scam that tries to scare you into paying a ransom fee for a supposed breach of your email account credentials. |
| Symptoms | You receive an email message that tries to trick you into thinking that your email account got compromised, plus that your password is leaked and exposed to hackers. |
| Distribution Method | Email Spam Messages, Suspicious Sites |
| Detection Tool |
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| User Experience | Join Our Forum to Discuss You may not know me. |
“You may not know me” Scam – Distribution Tactics
The “You may not know me” scam is mainly distributed through e-mail messages that may even be filtered as spam by email providers by now. It could also be using targeted attacks to aim for a bigger payout by companies or rich people. Different distribution tactics may exist, too. For instance, there are mentions of the “You may not know me” scam over Facebook, and the scareware tactics and doxing may be successful there, just as well.
In case your computer was truly compromised, a payload file that downloads a Trojan horse or some kind of a RAT may have been trigerred by a malicious website or redirect.
Freeware which is found on the Web can be presented as helpful also be hiding the malicious script for the scam message to appear. Refrain from opening files right after you have downloaded them. You should first scan them with a security tool, while also checking their size and signatures for anything that seems out of the ordinary. You should read the tips for preventing ransomware located at the corresponding forum thread.
“You may not know me” Scam – Information
The “You may not know me” scam is a hot topic all over the Internet, be it news websites or social networks such as Facebook. The message is sent over email and is a scareware tye that relies on social engineering. The extortionists want you to pay them for a supposed security breach that supposedly landed them your email account password.
The email message looks like the following:
The message in the email states:
Dear [redacted]
Yоu may not know mе and уоu arе prоbably wondering why уоu аre getting this е mail, right?
I’m a haсkеr whо сrаcked your devicеs a few months ago.
I sent you аn emаil frоm YOUR hаckеd аccоunt.
I setup а mаlwаrе оn the adult vids (pоrnо) wеb-site аnd guеss what, уou visitеd this site tо hаvе fun (уоu knоw what I mean).
Whilе уou were wаtching vidеos, уоur internеt browser startеd оut functiоning as a RDP (Rеmоtе Cоntrol) hаving а keуlоgger whiсh gavе me аccеssibilitу tо уour sсreеn and wеb cаm.
аfter thаt, my softwаre program obtаinеd аll оf your cоntаcts and filеs.You entеred a passwоrds on thе websitеs уоu visited, аnd I intеrсеpted it.
Of соurse уоu саn will changе it, or alrеadу changеd it.
But it dоеsn’t matter, my malwarе updаtеd it evеry time.What did I do?
I сrеated а dоublе-scrееn vidеo. 1st part shоws thе vidео yоu were wаtсhing (уou’vе got a gоod tastе hаhа . . .), and 2nd part shоws thе rесоrding оf yоur wеb саm.
Do not try tо find and dеstroy my virus! (All уоur datа is alrеadу uplоаdеd tо а remоtе server)
– Dо nоt trу tо сontact with me
– Variоus security servicеs will not help уou; formatting а disk оr destrоying а device will nоt help еither, sinсе уоur data is alrеadу on a rеmotе server.I guаrаnteе уоu thаt I will nоt disturb you again aftеr pауment, as уоu аrе nоt my singlе viсtim. This is a haсker codе оf hоnоr.
Dоn’t be mad аt mе, everyоne has their own wоrk.
exactlу whаt shоuld you do?Wеll, in mу оpiniоn, $695 (USD) is a fair priсе for our littlе secrеt. You’ll makе thе pауment bу Bitcоin (if you dо not knоw this, seаrch “hоw tо buy bitсoin” in Gоogle).
Mу Bitсoin wallеt Addrеss:
1KpioVDQJ47uQ8vepwwtaKDwUpyWLXV8cJ, 1AgexGi34oNAHXS9vs8ZrtKw5ULkV1LoWg(It is сAsE sensitive, so cоpy аnd pаste it)
Impоrtаnt:
You have 48 hour in ordеr tо mаke the pаyment. (I’ve а fасеbоok pixel in this mail, and at this mоment I know that you have reаd through this еmаil mеssagе).
Tо track thе reаding оf а mеssаge and thе асtions in it, I usе thе faсebоok piхеl.
Thаnks tо thеm. (Evеrything that is used fоr thе authorities сan hеlp us.)
If I do nоt gеt the BitCоins, I will certainlу sеnd out уour videо rесоrding to аll оf yоur сontаcts inсluding relаtives, cоwоrkеrs, аnd so оn. Having sаid that, if I rеcеivе the pаyment, I’ll dеstroy the videо immidiаtеlу.
If you neеd еvidencе, reply with “Yеs!” and I will certаinly sеnd out уоur vidеo rесоrding tо yоur 6 сontасts. It is а nоn-negotiаble offеr, that bеing said don’t wаstе mу personal time and уоurs bу respоnding to this message.
There are a number of possibilities, but in most cases this is an absolute scam. You should ignore it. Do not reply to it. Do not pay the cybercriminals behind it. Change your email password, but first make sure your computer is clean from viruses. Also, check if you are changing it from the real URL address of your email provider and not a phishing page.
The list below consists of Bitcoin addresses which are given by the criminals for paying the ransom. The scam may have different names dubbed on these Bitcoin addresses as you can see below:
- 1AgexGi34oNAHXS9vs8ZrtKw5ULkV1LoWg Bitcoin Email Scam
- 1KpioVDQJ47uQ8vepwwtaKDwUpyWLXV8cJ Bitcoin Email Scam
You are demanded to pay “695 US dollars” to allegedly not spread your personal pictures and files to family and friends. However, you should NOT under any circumstances pay any ransom sum. No guarantee exists that your “data” is not going to be leaked even if you pay. This is known as doxing – an extortion involving the threat of releasing personal information, photos or videos which might be embarassing or otherwise unwanted by the person being extorted. Adding to all of this, giving money to cybercriminals will most likely motivate them to create more ransomware scams, “viruses” or commit different criminal activities. That may even result to the criminals wanting more money after payment.
Be sure that even if your password got leaked from an older password breach database. If you have any accounts still using that password, be certain to change them and make sure you use a different password for each account. If you can, enable two-factor authentication on the accounts. Stay safe and ever vigilant.
Remove “You may not know me” Scam
To remove the You may not know me scam you should simply delete the email message. However, if you are truly breached and you recognize any of the listed passwords, you should see the step-by-step removal instructions provided below. In case you can not get rid of files related to the scam or find out other malicious ones, you should search for and remove any leftover malware pieces with an advanced anti-malware tool. Software like that will keep your system secure in the future.
Tsetso Mihailov
Tsetso Mihailov is a tech-geek and loves everything that is tech-related, while observing the latest news surrounding technologies. He has worked in IT before, as a system administrator and a computer repair technician. Dealing with malware since his teens, he is determined to spread word about the latest threats revolving around computer security.
Follow Me:
- Guide 1: How to Remove You may not know me from Windows.
- Guide 2: Get rid of You may not know me from Mac OS X.
- Guide 3: Remove You may not know me from Google Chrome.
- Guide 4: Erase You may not know me from Mozilla Firefox.
- Guide 5: Uninstall You may not know me from Microsoft Edge.
- Guide 6: Remove You may not know me from Safari.
- Guide 7: Eliminate You may not know me from Internet Explorer.
Windows Mac OS X Google Chrome Mozilla Firefox Microsoft Edge Safari Internet Explorer
How to Remove You may not know me from Windows.
Step 1: Boot Your PC In Safe Mode to isolate and remove You may not know me
Step 2: Uninstall You may not know me and related software from Windows
Here is a method in few easy steps that should be able to uninstall most programs. No matter if you are using Windows 10, 8, 7, Vista or XP, those steps will get the job done. Dragging the program or its folder to the recycle bin can be a very bad decision. If you do that, bits and pieces of the program are left behind, and that can lead to unstable work of your PC, errors with the file type associations and other unpleasant activities. The proper way to get a program off your computer is to Uninstall it. To do that:
Follow the instructions above and you will successfully uninstall most programs.
Step 3: Clean any registries, created by You may not know me on your computer.
The usually targeted registries of Windows machines are the following:
- HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run
- HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run
- HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\RunOnce
- HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\RunOnce
You can access them by opening the Windows registry editor and deleting any values, created by You may not know me there. This can happen by following the steps underneath:
Tip: To find a virus-created value, you can right-click on it and click "Modify" to see which file it is set to run. If this is the virus file location, remove the value.
Before starting "Step 4", please boot back into Normal mode, in case you are currently in Safe Mode.
This will enable you to install and use SpyHunter 5 successfully.
Windows Mac OS X Google Chrome Mozilla Firefox Microsoft Edge Safari Internet Explorer
Get rid of You may not know me from Mac OS X.
Step 1: Uninstall You may not know me and remove related files and objects
1. Hit the ⇧+⌘+U keys to open Utilities. Another way is to click on “Go” and then click “Utilities”, like the image below shows:
- Go to Finder.
- In the search bar type the name of the app that you want to remove.
- Above the search bar change the two drop down menus to “System Files” and “Are Included” so that you can see all of the files associated with the application you want to remove. Bear in mind that some of the files may not be related to the app so be very careful which files you delete.
- If all of the files are related, hold the ⌘+A buttons to select them and then drive them to “Trash”.
In case you cannot remove You may not know me via Step 1 above:
In case you cannot find the virus files and objects in your Applications or other places we have shown above, you can manually look for them in the Libraries of your Mac. But before doing this, please read the disclaimer below:
You can repeat the same procedure with the following other Library directories:
→ ~/Library/LaunchAgents
/Library/LaunchDaemons
Tip: ~ is there on purpose, because it leads to more LaunchAgents.
Step 2: Scan for and remove malware from your Mac
When you are facing problems on your Mac as a result of unwanted scripts, programs and malware, the recommended way of eliminating the threat is by using an anti-malware program. Combo Cleaner offers advanced security features along with other modules that will improve your Mac’s security and protect it in the future.
Windows Mac OS X Google Chrome Mozilla Firefox Microsoft Edge Safari Internet Explorer
Remove You may not know me from Google Chrome.
Step 1: Start Google Chrome and open the drop menu
Step 2: Move the cursor over "Tools" and then from the extended menu choose "Extensions"
Step 3: From the opened "Extensions" menu locate the unwanted extension and click on its "Remove" button.
Step 4: After the extension is removed, restart Google Chrome by closing it from the red "X" button at the top right corner and start it again.
Windows Mac OS X Google Chrome Mozilla Firefox Microsoft Edge Safari Internet Explorer
Erase You may not know me from Mozilla Firefox.
Step 1: Start Mozilla Firefox. Open the menu window
Step 2: Select the "Add-ons" icon from the menu.
Step 3: Select the unwanted extension and click "Remove"
Step 4: After the extension is removed, restart Mozilla Firefox by closing it from the red "X" button at the top right corner and start it again.
Windows Mac OS X Google Chrome Mozilla Firefox Microsoft Edge Safari Internet Explorer
Uninstall You may not know me from Microsoft Edge.
Step 1: Start Edge browser.
Step 2: Open the drop menu by clicking on the icon at the top right corner.
Step 3: From the drop menu select "Extensions".
Step 4: Choose the suspected malicious extension you want to remove and then click on the gear icon.
Step 5: Remove the malicious extension by scrolling down and then clicking on Uninstall.
Windows Mac OS X Google Chrome Mozilla Firefox Microsoft Edge Safari Internet Explorer
Remove You may not know me from Safari.
Step 1: Start the Safari app.
Step 2: After hovering your mouse cursor to the top of the screen, click on the Safari text to open its drop down menu.
Step 3: From the menu, click on "Preferences".
Step 4: After that, select the 'Extensions' Tab.
Step 5: Click once on the extension you want to remove.
Step 6: Click 'Uninstall'.
A pop-up window will appear asking for confirmation to uninstall the extension. Select 'Uninstall' again, and the You may not know me will be removed.
Windows Mac OS X Google Chrome Mozilla Firefox Microsoft Edge Safari Internet Explorer
Eliminate You may not know me from Internet Explorer.
Step 1: Start Internet Explorer.
Step 2: Click on the gear icon labeled 'Tools' to open the drop menu and select 'Manage Add-ons'
Step 3: In the 'Manage Add-ons' window.
Step 4: Select the extension you want to remove and then click 'Disable'. A pop-up window will appear to inform you that you are about to disable the selected extension, and some more add-ons might be disabled as well. Leave all the boxes checked, and click 'Disable'.
Step 5: After the unwanted extension has been removed, restart Internet Explorer by closing it from the red 'X' button located at the top right corner and start it again.
