---
title: "Here’s What to Do If Hackers Threaten to Release Your Porn History"
description: "Authorities are reporting an uptick in \"sextortion\" scams — but you probably don't have to worry about your browser history being leaked."
date: "2024-09-25"
modified: "2024-09-25"
authors:
  - name: "Noor Al-Sibai"
    job_title: "Senior Staff Writer"
    link: "https://futurism.com/authors/nooralsibai"
url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/scammers-porn-leak-sextortion"
categories:
  - "Cybersecurity"
  - "Future Society"
  - "Hacking"
tags:
  - "data breach"
  - "hackers"
  - "scams"
  - "the digest"
---

# Here’s What to Do If Hackers Threaten to Release Your Porn History

![Authorities are reporting an uptick in "sextortion" scams — but you probably don't have to worry about your browser history being leaked.](<https://futurism.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/scammers-threaten-porn-leak-sextortion.jpg>)
*\<em\>Image: Getty / Futurism\</em\>*

## History Business

Police all over the country are [reporting an uptick](<https://troopers.ny.gov/news/new-york-state-police-warns-nationwide-automated-sextortion-scams-0>) in so-called "sextortion" scams — but you probably don't have to worry about hackers leaking your porn browsing history just yet.

As [*Business Insider*](<https://www.businessinsider.com/sextortion-scam-google-search-history-gmail-data-breach-2024-9>) and [other](<https://www.whec.com/top-news/nysp-warn-public-about-sextortion-scam/>) [outlets](<https://nj1015.com/for-the-love-of-porn-scammers-threaten-to-reveal-browser-histories-in-nj/>) report, the latest update to the classic ransom scam involves bad actors contacting people on [emails leaked in data breaches](<https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-13883523/More-100-MILLION-Americans-private-information-leaked-data-breach-background-check-company.html>), finding their addresses using [publicly-available information online](<https://www.vox.com/the-highlight/2019/9/11/20859597/internet-privacy-erase-history-google-facebook>), and sending them Google Street View photos of their own homes.

As these reports indicate, the scammers behind these sorts of egregious emails make various claims meant to blackmail people into wiring them crypto or cash: that they've [recorded their screens](<https://www.forbes.com/sites/daveywinder/2022/11/28/has-a-hacker-with-your-password-really-recorded-you-watching-porn/>) when they were watching porn, [accessed their webcams](<https://krebsonsecurity.com/2024/09/sextortion-scams-now-include-photos-of-your-home/>) and obtained "[compromising](<https://www.wgrz.com/article/money/consumer/internet-scam-uses-photos-home/71-2a64c14f-596d-4a1d-9bf5-162b5579daae>)" photos that they'll leak unless they pay up.

Fortunately, though, it's almost certainly a bluff that you can ignore.

## Big Game

Scary as these "hello pervert" con artists sound, they are, generally speaking, full of crap.

In an [explainer about avoiding scams](<https://oig.ftc.gov/ftc-imposter-scams>), the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) provides some expert reality checks on how these sorts of e-jerks operate.

"Scammers want you to act before you have time to think," the FTC says. "They might say your computer is about to be corrupted. They also might tell you to keep the conversation a secret from your friends and family."

Though these kinds of scams have been going on [since at least 2018](<https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2018/07/sextortion-scam-what-do-if-you-get-latest-phishing-spam-demanding-bitcoin>), [repeat data breaches](<https://techcrunch.com/2024/08/12/2024-in-data-breaches-1-billion-stolen-records-and-rising/>) in which hackers leaked both [email](<https://krebsonsecurity.com/2024/02/u-s-internet-leaked-years-of-internal-customer-emails/>) and [physical addresses](<https://futurism.com/the-byte/hackers-social-security-information>) seem to be contributing to their frequency and convincing nature.

While there have indeed been many more sophisticated scams going around in recent years with the help of [AI deepfaking](<https://futurism.com/the-byte/hackers-cloned-lastpass-ceo-voice>) and [clever hackers' skills](<https://futurism.com/hackers-read-chatbot-conversations>), these sextortion rackets are no such beast.

"The scammers may say they have access to your computer or webcam, or installed clever software to defeat you," the FTC said in a 2020 press release about the "sextortion" cons. "That's all talk."

**More on scary scams:** [*Bone-Chilling AI Scam Fakes Your Loved Ones’ Voices to Demand Hostage Ransom*](<https://futurism.com/the-byte/ai-voice-hostage-scam>)

## Author
At Futurism, I've often been drawn to unpacking the narratives that underlie technological, scientific and medical progress, with a special interest in areas of conflict and ambiguity that end up setting agendas and steering the fates of both elites and the hoi polloi. I'm a committed generalist, but I often find myself returning to work involving NASA and the private space sector, the effects of AI on media and society, and the mechanics of the pharmaceutical industry, with a specific focus on the spread of GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy. Prior to Futurism, I worked for publications ranging from Media Matters and Truthdig to Raw Story and Bustle. I'm also the author of "Myspace Scene Queens," a 2024 title in Instar Books' acclaimed "Remember the Internet" series. My work at Futurism has been cited by outlets including the New Yorker, Slate, Nieman Lab, the Verge, the MIT Technology Review, the Sunday Times, and the Daily Beast. I grew up in North Carolina, attended the University of North Carolina at Asheville, and now live in Brooklyn, New York. In my free time, I'm an avid reader and music fan; you can probably find me at a local poetry reading, concert, underground rave, or DJ set. I'm the proud parent of an ineffable orange cat named Mee-Mow.

### Author social links  
[Bluesky](<https://bsky.app/profile/noorfromfuturism.bsky.social>)