back to article Sextortion on the internet: Our man refuses to lie down and take it

An unpleasant Monday morning kicked off when my personal email account popped up a message of thanks for joining YouTube rival Vimeo. Seven minutes later, I visited the website, where I was confronted by a sexually explicit video stating I was a pedophile. The video depicted a bearded young man lying back on a bed, pleasuring …

  1. Voland's right hand Silver badge

    Fourth

    4. Vimeo should fix its account creation and upload policy. The current one is borderline criminally complicit with the extortion racket gang.

    At present it is just asking to be exploited.

    1. wolfetone Silver badge

      Re: Fourth

      That's all I could think about is how Vimeo allow that. Just seems silly.

      This is a lot like another scam they're trying to do where you click a link and you're taken to the West Kent Police Page or Europol page where they display your IP address and say you've been caught looking at things you shouldn't have (kiddie porn, animal porn, plasticine porn etc) and you should click a link to pay a fine.

      1. Crazy Operations Guy

        "you're taken to the West Kent Police Page or Europol page"

        Well, its easy to figure out if its a scam:

        If the website looks like a teenager's Geocities page and it requests payment by typing in your details on a regular http page, its very likely to be a legitimate government website.

    2. You aint sin me, roit

      Re: Fourth

      "Vimeo and others want no part of this kind of traffic" implies they should be doing something about it before it escalates to a blackmail scenario. Put some effort into vetting accounts and the content that is uploaded and the problem vanished.

      But that costs money. Better to fall back on the tried and tested view that nothing needs to be done until someone complains...

    3. Sir Sham Cad

      Re: Fourth

      Yes. My reaction when I read that was "Holy shit, how? This is 2016 and supposed to be a reputable site competing with Google!"

      I can't pay my broadband bill without a bunch of security questions and a recaptcha that checks if I am able to distinguish all the pictures that contain donkey balls for however long it decides to show me such things.

      I suspect that Vimeo have forgone security in order to make it easier to get more signups. More accounts = more ad revenue after all.

      1. theblackhand

        Re: Fourth

        Re: I suspect that Vimeo have forgone security in order to make it easier to get more signups. More accounts = more ad revenue after all.

        Try:

        More signups == more users == more VC money. Ad revenue and other "traditional" revenue streams tend not to feature in these plans...

        Reference: just about any public Internet service

      2. Pliny the Whiner

        Re: Fourth

        "I can't pay my broadband bill without a bunch of security questions and a recaptcha that checks if I am able to distinguish all the pictures that contain donkey balls for however long it decides to show me such things."

        It would be interesting to have a CAPTCHA where you check all of the pictures showing child-pornography images. If you succeed, a warrant is issued for your arrest.

        1. Leeroy

          Re: Fourth

          Nobody can safely up vote your post no matter how accurate it could be !

  2. Dr. E. Amweaver
    Black Helicopters

    Charlie Brooker HAS SIGHT BEYOND SIGHT

    ...sweet Freya in Asgard.

    Charlie Brooker predicted the PM's pig thing (sort of). The new Netflix Black Mirror series uses exactly this kind of blackmail as one of the key plotlines for the episode Shut Up And Dance...

    1. Faceless Man

      Re: Charlie Brooker HAS SIGHT BEYOND SIGHT

      I suspect in this instance, it's more a matter of hindsight. It's not like this kind of thing is new, any more than the idea that reality television exploits hopeful talent in really depressing and disgusting ways.

      The pig thing, though, that was a fluke. Even he said he didn't mean to make a documentary.

  3. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    You should probably be more concerned about the "no smoke without fire" brigade...

    1. Yet Another Anonymous coward Silver badge

      If you were more famous the BBC could have sent it's helicopter....

    2. fedoraman
      Coat

      What about smoke machines?

      1. Little Mouse

        "They're not smoke. They're dry ice."

        1. Toltec

          "They're not smoke. They're dry ice."

          I thought they worked more like those vaping gadgets?

          1. imanidiot Silver badge

            @Toltec, there's actually 2 types. The ones that use dry ice cause a low hanging mist that spreads across the floor. The ones that evaporate a "smoking liquid" create thick billowy clouds that fill the room.

        2. Vic

          They're not smoke. They're dry ice

          They're usually smoke - a fogging fluid is passed over a heater element to create smoke.

          Dry ice is a rather different effect (it tends to give you a very dense fog at floor level) and is more expensive.

          Vic.

          1. Alan Brown Silver badge

            "a fogging fluid is passed over a heater element to create smoke."

            And that "smoke" tends to make whatever's exposed to it for prolonged periods get pretty.... icky and sticky.

            I always shudder when thinking of what it might be doing to lungs.

    3. This post has been deleted by its author

  4. Your alien overlord - fear me

    Wonder if the crims thought

    The Register was 'that register', you know for paedeos. And got your name/email from here thinking you're already known to the authorities.....

  5. lglethal Silver badge
    Joke

    Using an Iphone?

    Well I guess that's a dead give away that the guy is a wanker... :P

    1. I ain't Spartacus Gold badge
      Happy

      Re: Using an Iphone?

      And the iPhone is definitely under 16 years old too!

      I only ever show my john thomas to my ancient Motorola MicroTac - which is over the age of consent, but sadly doesn't have a camera...

      Ah... Nostalgia. Rememebr the days of green screen ascii porn?

      1. Jeffrey Nonken

        Re: Using an Iphone?

        Yes. I remember the days of computer printout ASCII porn.

      2. Anonymous Coward
        Coat

        Re: Using an Iphone?

        You don't need a green screen to do ascii porn ( . ) ( . )

  6. Pen-y-gors

    Duct tape...

    ...is your friend.

    {NO, not for doing anything like that! - you have a filthy mind! - I mean a small piece across the webcam works wonders at blocking unauthorised filming of you lying in bed pleasuring youself with a cup of hot chocolate and an old episode of 'The Good Life' on DVD)

    1. I ain't Spartacus Gold badge

      Oh no! One of Vyvyan's socks has escaped!

      Oh look! Some of Felicity Kendall's underwear, and it's really dirty!

      1. fedoraman

        Re: Oh no! One of Vyvyan's socks has escaped!

        This calls for a mixture of subtlety and extreme violence!

        1. Broadwing

          Re: Oh no! One of Vyvyan's socks has escaped!

          It's been forever, but wasn't it 'psychology'?

      2. wolfetone Silver badge

        Re: Oh no! One of Vyvyan's socks has escaped!

        "Oh look! Some of Felicity Kendall's underwear, and it's really dirty!"

        You know you still would.

        1. This post has been deleted by its author

          1. Yet Another Anonymous coward Silver badge

            Re: Oh no! One of Vyvyan's socks has escaped!

            Nena (of 99 red balloons) is hotter now than when I was a teenager - same thing doesn't seem to have happened to me.

          2. wolfetone Silver badge

            Re: Oh no! One of Vyvyan's socks has escaped!

            "You know she's 70, right?"

            Pensioners need sex too, and less ageism.

        2. Steve K

          Re: Oh no! One of Vyvyan's socks has escaped!

          "Felicity, Felicity - you fill me with electricity"

      3. Kernel

        Re: Oh no! One of Vyvyan's socks has escaped!

        "Oh look! Some of Felicity Kendall's underwear, and it's really dirty!"

        There's one episode where she bent over while wearing a nightdress with a fairly loose top - for a brief moment there's a lot more than her underwear to see (she wasn't wearing a bra for that shot).

        1. Bibbit

          Re: Oh no! One of Vyvyan's socks has escaped!

          "Felicity Kendall is sweetly pretty, and just what a real girlie should be. Why, speaking as a feminist myself, I can safely say this: that Felicity Kendall is a wonderful woman, and I want to protect her."

          How that sugar-flavoured snob Briers pulled her, I shall never know.

    2. IsJustabloke
      Gimp

      Re: Duct tape...

      "an old episode of 'The Good Life' on DVD"

      Hmmmm... Penny Keith / Margot was hot!

      1. Bloakey1

        Re: Duct tape...

        "Hmmmm... Penny Keith / Margot was hot!"

        Felicity Kendal would be my preferred lady on that show, my God she did terrible things to my teenage febrile mind.

        Oooohhhhh, the mere thought is enough to solicit a furtive glance over the should as in days of yore to make sure nobody in the family can see the rapt attention I pay to her nether regions.

    3. Faceless Man

      Re: Duct tape...

      "lying in bed pleasuring youself with a cup of hot chocolate and an old episode of 'The Good Life' on DVD"

      That sounds like it might be painful. And somewhat messy. Still, takes all kinds...

      (Oh, you mean like *that*. My apologies. Still, you shouldn't have said it that way, you might confuse a stupid person...)

  7. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Amazon

    Talking about not confirming email addresses to open an account: Someone managed to open up an Amazon merchant account using my Amazon "consumer" login - I did receive a "congratulations" email from Amazon, but no necessity to confirm. Looking back through my email history at the time the hack occurred I found this and a few others that I thought were spam with a spoofed address, but in fact they were legitimate Amazon emails.

    The only way I realised this had happened was when I tried to login to my account and found it blocked. Amazon told me it was because I had a "poor seller reputation." I did regain control of my account, but here's the thing, they have never acknowledged the fact my account had been hacked and that it was not me that had opened that sub-account - so I've closed my "consumer" account.

    They seem oblivious to the consequences that this flags up.

    Anyone else had this?

    1. SImon Hobson Bronze badge

      Re: Amazon

      > They seem oblivious to the consequences that this flags up.

      Quite the reverse.

      There's no consequences for them for situations like this - they just get to shift more tat in their war with eBay.

      The consequences of admitting to a problem are more of a concern - hence why they'll not admit to the possibility of one.

    2. Adam 52 Silver badge

      Re: Amazon

      Similar, I've managed to create two Amazon accounts with the same email address (and different passwords).

      Amazon are, of course, famous for promoting eventual consistency as an acceptable model for retail transactions.

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: create two Amazon accounts with the same email address

        Ahh, now that might have been what happened with me.

        The thing I couldn't get my head round was if they'd hacked my account, why did they not do anything with, say, my delivery addresses, adding in one they had access to, for example, or having access to my credit card details?

        Your post totally explains why they didn't, but I would have thought email address should be a unique key on their database. (Sorry, you can't open an account, you already have one). That is a worry that it isn't a unique key. Smacks to me of a replication issue on a distributed database. Something that could happen in a Cloud topology perhaps?

        1. Anonymous Coward
          Anonymous Coward

          Re: create two Amazon accounts with the same email address

          Seems like this is something known about for a long time:-

          https://www.amazon.com/forum/amazon?_encoding=UTF8&cdForum=Fx1UE1R6VSVMXK7&cdThread=Tx43HXCA2S5IBQ

          A lot of concern in the thread about merging accounts. I'm more concerned about the security aspects!

  8. 2Senile

    I Volunteer.

    To fight against blackmail I shall volunteer to authorities in order to spring a plan: The blackmailer has to come personally to collect £20,000 ....... while i'm in action. My (attractive) victim has to be provided by authorities.

    At my age "blackmail" is not a fear! :(

  9. Speltier

    CGI

    Just wait till CGI advances to the point that making the videos of "you" is at the kiddie script level. Then there are the wheels within wheels-- that isn't a real video, it is a fake!

  10. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    My favourite part was where the author skipped over the paedophile allegations with a "meh"; but went on to vigorously, categorically and repeatedly deny that he'd ever owned an iPhone. Proper Reg reporting.

  11. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Back in the dawn of the World Wide Web

    > Bruce Schneier gave some excellent advice in the first interview I had with him: never write or post anything online that you couldn’t justify publishing in your local paper.

    Bruce obviously hasn't seen my local newspaper. This would be quite tame by their standards. :-(

  12. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Good for you, and fuck off.

    "However, as a tech journalist I know people at Vimeo, and so I went to the company to find out what was going on"

    Why not have a go at your mates to sort it out rather than pander to their failure to do things properly.

    The most disgusting sort of journalism, and I don't want to read it.

    Go away Mr Thomson.

    1. John Brown (no body) Silver badge

      Re:

      "Why not have a go at your mates to sort it out rather than pander to their failure to do things properly."

      I was wondering the same, but with a bit less veracity. I was expecting to eventually reach a paragraph telling us that Vimeo have now fixed this "hole" which allows the blackmailers easy access.

    2. MrDamage Silver badge

      Re: Good for you, and fuck off.

      How about you start ringing up all of your mates, demanding that they demand their boss immediately changes every aspect of their business model they don't like, and wait to see how long it takes before one of the bosses tells your mate to pass on a "Fuck off" to you?

  13. Myvekk

    Back in the dawn of the World Wide Web...

    This has always been true. Yet people still get caught by it.

    Before that, when analogue mobile phones were just begining to become common among the few who could afford them, there were scandals over what was sometimes said. this was because anyone with a radio scanner could hear them. A friend commented to me, "Don't they get it? Never say anything on a mobile that you wouldn't want across the front page of the <major city broadsheet newspaper>."

  14. P. Lee

    >never write or post anything online that you couldn’t justify publishing in your local paper.

    Don't have sex with someone you don't know?

    That's at least as bad as telling someone you don't know about your sex life.

    You could take the common-sense a bit further... don't commit yourself physically and emotionally to someone who is holding out for someone better than you. If they aren't holding out, get them to say so, publicly and legally.

  15. Bibbit

    Let me get this straight...

    (no not in THAT way)

    I must have got this wrong. Potentially, you can get anyone's email address, use that to sign up to Vimeo and then without activation/authorisation upload video content to the site which is then published? Attached to their eamil address? Surely not?

    If so I may visit the Conservative Home website and get cracking.

    (only joking; they will have all registered themselves long ago and have been sending grumbly pics to young Tory interns ever since). Good old Baxter Basics.

  16. TheProf
    Unhappy

    Potential paramour?

    "typically, a victim is tricked into performing sex acts on webcam by someone pretending to be a potential paramour."

    And this is how people are 'introduced' to each other these days is it? I still prefer meeting a young lady under the station clock at 8pm. I'll be wearing a white carnation in my buttonhole and carrying a copy of The Times.

    1. I ain't Spartacus Gold badge
      Devil

      Re: Potential paramour?

      I prefer to meet my lover in the chatroom at 11pm.

      I'll be the one furiously masturbating while licking whipped cream off a bronze bust of Margaret Thatcher, by the light of a burning Samsung.

  17. GcdJ

    What about the "other" Ian Thomson?

    In your quest to post a breaking news article - You appear to have provided a great deal of information that can be used to identify the victim - your doppelganger.

    (Name, facial hair, weight, iphone)

    This is not good journalism and I suspect any person that fits your identification may have a legal case against your publication for deformation of character etc?

    Geoff

  18. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    The police

    "and the police are more clued in than they used to be."

    But because their numbers are falling will pretty much do fuck all about it. Considering a friend has reported a known banned driver who passes their house daily, yet he's still driving over a month after reporting. And yes, 100% known to be banned.

  19. JohnEsta

    Online extortion today

    Unfortunately, due to the rapid development of the Internet and the amount of personal data of people in it, it has become an excellent platform for many scammers who want to make money on you. I myself have experienced this, scammers sent me an email in which they demanded money from me and if I refuse to pay, they would send all my friends and colleagues fake information that I am a pedophile. I refused to pay and so they did and it just created a bunch of problems for me. But I'm lucky the guys are out of here minclaw.com helped me clean up my reputation and this story ended quickly.

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