How do extortion email scams work?

Extortion emails threaten harm unless victims pay. Threats include: releasing embarrassing information, attacking systems, reporting illegal activity, or physical harm. Most are bluffs designed to frighten payment.

Common extortion types: sextortion (claiming webcam footage), business extortion (threatening DDoS attacks), and blackmail (claiming evidence of misconduct). Attackers usually have no actual leverage.

Response: don't pay (encourages future attacks and often doesn't stop threats), report to law enforcement, preserve evidence, and recognize that paying doesn't guarantee threat removal. Most extortion emails are scams.