Don’t Fall for the Fake “I Was Planning to Say Hello” Email Scam

Your heart drops as you read the subject line:

“I Was Planning to Say Hello.”

With a mix of curiosity and dread, you open the email. The message inside immediately plunges your stomach into free fall.

A unknown sender claims to have infiltrated your computer and seized control of your webcam. They say they’ve caught you in embarrassingly compromising positions. Videos that could destroy your life.

And now they are threatening to expose the footage to everyone you know unless you pay a hefty ransom in untraceable Bitcoin within 48 hours.

You feel violated. Exposed. Hunted. With your reputation hanging by a thread, paying up seems like the only option. But is everything as sinister as it seems?

This email scam has been terorrizing countless recipients, leveraging fear and blackmail for profit. In this comprehensive guide, we’ll break down exactly how it ensnares victims step-by-step, arming you with knowledge to protect yourself and fight back.

Here’s everything you need to know about the increasingly common “I Was Planning to Say Hello” extortion scheme and how to beat it at its own psychological game.

Overview of the “I Was Planning to Say Hello” Email Scam

The “I Was Planning to Say Hello” email scam is an example of a sophisticated spear phishing attack targeting victims in order to extort money from them. This deceptive scam typically starts with an email that appears relatively harmless at first glance, before taking an ominous turn by making shocking claims and threats intended to elicit fear and urgency in the recipient.

The criminals carrying out this scam are experts in social engineering and manipulation, using carefully crafted language and psychological tactics to exploit vulnerable victims. This scam email has been crafted to instill embarrassment, anxiety and desperation in recipients in order to coerce them into complying with exorbitant ransom demands.

Here is how the “I Was Planning to Say Hello” email looks:

I was planning to say hello, but now I think greetings are unnecessary.

Firstly, I already know you and all your loved ones very well.
Secondly, the occasion for which I’m writing to you is not the happiest one for a friendly greeting.

You’ve heard that the Internet is a dangerous place, infested with malicious links and hackers like me?
Of course, you’ve heard, but what’s the point in it if you are so dismissive of your internet security and don’t care what websites you visit?
Times have changed. You read about AI, judging by your browser history, and still didn’t understand anything?

Technologies have stepped far forward, and now hackers like me use artificial intelligence.
Thanks to it, I can get not only access to your webcam and record your fun with highly controversial video
(I recorded it also, but now that’s not the point), but also to all your devices and not only yours.
And I saved a special sauce for this dish. I went further and sent malicious links to all your contacts from your account.

Yes, someone was smarter and realized that this was a trap and you were hacked, but believe me,
about 70% of your contact list (and these are your friends, colleagues, and family) bought into my scam.
They have as many skeletons in their closet as you do. Some turn out to be hidden homosexuals…

I have accumulated and analyzed a huge amount of compromising data on you and those with whom you communicate.
Very soon I’ll start a crossfire – everyone will receive the full history of correspondence
(and there are enough of “sensitive moments”) and recordings from the other contact’s webcam.
I can go further and put all these files, as well as the recorded fun of you and your hacked contacts with “hardcore videos” into the public domain.

You can imagine, it will be a real sensation!
And everyone will understand where it came from – from you.
For all your contacts and, you will be enemy number one. Even your relatives will take a long time to forgive you and forget such a family shame…

It will be the real end of the world. The only difference is that there will be not four horsemen of the apocalypse, but only one – (=
But there is no such thing as a completely black stripe without any white dots.
Luckily for you, in my case the “Three M Rule” comes into play – Money, Money and Money again.

I’m not interested in your worthless life, I’m interested in people from whom I can profit.
And today you are one of them.

That’s why: Transfer $1390 in Bitcoin to: 1PPJpvSPbbMwbESJZXGS8VtKiFQkmm7DvK …within 48 hours!

You don’t know how to use cryptocurrencies? Use Google, everything is simple.

Once payment is received, I will delete all information associated with you and you will never hear from me again.
Remember one thing: my crypto address is anonymous, and I generated this letter in your mailbox and sent it to you.
You can call the cops, do whatever you want – they won’t find me, my demands won’t change, but you’ll just waste precious time.

The clock is ticking. Tick tock, a minute out of 48 hours has passed right now. An hour will soon pass, and in two days your old life will pass forever.
Either goodbye forever (if I get my payment), or hello to a brave new world in which there will be no place for you.

Hasta La Vista, Baby!
P.S. Almost forgot. Finally learn what incognito tabs, two-factor authentication, and the TOR browser are, for God’s sake!

In the email, the sender claims to have compromised the recipient’s computer and other devices without their knowledge, giving them extensive access to their personal information, browsing history, video recordings, and contact lists. The email asserts that the sender has recorded videos of the recipient in compromising positions and situations of an adult nature by illegally accessing their webcam.

To further the deception, the email claims that through the use of artificial intelligence and sophisticated hacking techniques, the sender has also sent malware-laden links to all of the recipient’s contacts, fooling many of them into installing viruses that provided access to their own private files and communications.

The litany of intrusions and privacy violations described in the email are designed to overwhelm the recipient with an impending sense of catastrophe and destroy their sense of security. The scenario described is meant to convince the victim that their personal and professional reputation will be utterly ruined unless they immediately comply with the demands.

This is further reinforced by threats of releasing embarrassing videos, nude photos, recordings, correspondence history and other sensitive data to all of the recipient’s friends, family members, colleagues and business associates. The sender emphasizes total social and professional annihilation, intended to scare the recipient into paying without thinking rationally.

Of course, providing an untraceable Bitcoin wallet address as the desired method of payment is a key red flag, as real hackers would be unlikely to reveal their cryptocurrency wallets so easily. But victims in an panicked, desperate state of mind may overlook such signs in their haste to meet demands before the threatened deadline.

The various ploys and manipulation tactics used in the “I Was Planning to Say Hello” scam email highlight the cold, cunning psychology behind many cyber extortion schemes. Rather than relying solely on technical means, these scams also leverage social engineering, fear mongering, and intimidation to exploit human vulnerabilities on a psychological level.

The scammers deliberately cultivate feelings of violation, anxiety, embarrassment and isolation in recipients to bypass critical thinking and rationale. By pushing victims into an emotional state of desperation and panic, bad decision-making is induced. The email is structured to rob recipients of hope or perspective, railroading them into paying up as the only perceived way out.

This scam stands as a prime example of just how effectively even a simple email can be weaponized for extortion purposes when crafted with malicious mastery. The pathos-driven narrative depicts an inescapable downward spiral, whereas in reality the supposed hacking and compromising of accounts is nothing more than a fabrication. But the emotional distress elicited can cause victims to abandon reason in favor of stopping the feeling of catastrophe.

By understanding the psychological manipulation involved in scams like this, individuals can equip themselves to recognize red flags and remain level-headed in the face of such criminal trickery. Technical security measures are not always enough – one must be on guard against phishing emails designed not just to infiltrate devices, but infiltrate minds. With awareness and vigilance, such unethical exploits of human psyche can be defeated.

How the “I Was Planning to Say Hello” Scam Works

The “I Was Planning to Say Hello” scam is meticulously designed to leverage social engineering techniques and psychological pressure tactics to extort money from victims. This step-by-step breakdown reveals what’s happening behind the scenes at each phase to perpetrate an advanced phishing attack:

1. Obtaining Target Email Addresses

The scammers first acquire large databases of target email addresses through data breaches, malware attacks, dark web shops and hacking forums. Compiled lists of usernames, passwords and emails provide fertile hunting ground. Names and emails can also be scraped from public directories, social media sites and domain WHOIS records.

Casting a wide initial net boosts chances of success. Spoofing the sender email address to look legitimate also increases open rates. Personalization with names and details builds trust.

2. Crafting Manipulative Email Content

The email content is carefully constructed to manipulate emotions and exploit vulnerabilities. The narrative of compromised accounts and data breaches is intended to shock, while cultivating feelings of violation and vulnerability.

Threats are designed to create catastrophic thinking, while urgent demands pressure quick payments. Fear, uncertainty, jealousy, embarrassment and desperation are deliberately triggered. Syntax, semantics and psychology converge manipulatively.

3. Executing the Mass Email Campaign

The scam emails are sent en masse to the compiled victim email list through botnets and spam tools. Additional spear phishing filters may segment targets by demographics and interests most likely to yield payments, based on dark web market research.

Subject lines and preview text are optimized for urgency and high open rates. The sender domains and display names are spoofed to increase perceived legitimacy.

4. Recipients Open Emails and Engage Content

Curious, concerned or confused email recipients open the scam message in their inbox. Personal details create a false sense of legitimacy. The alarming content grabs attention and elicits distressing emotions before logic can be applied.

5. Leveraging Fear and Urgency

The harrowing threat narrative takes hold, creating acute emotional duress. Fight, flight or freeze responses are triggered. Critical thinking is bypassed in favor of self-preservation. The imminent consequences seize focus, overshadowing objective analysis.

6. Overwhelming Victims with Threats

Feelings of violation, shame and catastrophe overload the recipient’s psyche. Too many threats at once short circuit reason. The walls feel like they’re closing in as imagined ruin looms from all sides, creating a willingness to do anything to make it stop.

7. Ransom Payment Demanded

With the victim reeling, ransom demands are issued along with a short deadline meant to eliminate any chance of level headedness returning. The threat to privacy and normalcy continues pressing down. A path to make it all go away appears.

8. Scare Tactics Used to Prevent Reporting

Any instinct to report the scam is preempted by warnings that authorities won’t be able to trace them. Technobabble about encryption and anonymity sounds convincing to panicked ears. Fears of further life ruination are stoked.

9. Fake Hackers Stay Hidden

No real hacking group would reveal their cryptocurrency wallets so easily. But victims in survival mode overlook this, willing to grab any lifeline back to normalcy. The criminals remain safely hidden behind spoofed emails and anonymous crypto accounts.

10. Victims Pay Ransom

In a final act of desperation and compliance, victims wire over funds to the Bitcoin wallet, rationalizing it as the only way to escape doomsday. With no hack actually executed, the scammers simply pocket the crypto, leaving the target drained and violated.

11. Criminals Disappear and Cover Tracks

After securing the ransom payments, the scammers wipe traces, abandon email addresses, and go dark without releasing any actual compromising material, since it never existed. Victims are left to pick up the pieces.

By recognizing these psychological manipulation stages, individuals can detect and defuse “I Was Planning to Say Hello” phishing scams at the very start, rather than be steered down the path to financial and emotional ruin.

Signs the Email is a Scam

While the threats and claims in this email can seem intimidating and real, there are a number of indicators that reveal it is fraudulent:

1. Errors – The emails often contain spelling, grammar and formatting errors. Genuine emails from a hacking group would be unlikely to contain such mistakes.
2. No actual proof – The email does not provide any actual evidence of having compromising footage or having hacked your devices.
3. Technobabble – Vague claims about using “AI” and “hacking tools” are not proof of anything. This technobabble is designed to sound sophisticated.
4. No custom details – Aside from including your name or email address, the content is not customized or demonstrate any real knowledge of you.
5. Bluffing – The claims are simply designed to scare, and it is highly unlikely the sender actually has access to anything compromising.
6. Bitcoin – Demanding untraceable Bitcoin is a red flag, as real hacking groups would not reveal their cryptocurrency wallets so easily.
7. Threats – Genuine hacking groups would not warn their victims about reporting them to authorities or threaten them so directly.

When scrutinized logically, it becomes clear this scam email does not have any teeth behind its sinister facade. However, the fear tactics used can still trick unsuspecting recipients.

What to Do If You Have Fallen Victim to This Scam

If you have unfortunately already fallen prey to the “I Was Planning to Say Hello” scam and paid the ransom demand, don’t panic. Here are the steps you should take right away:

1. Contact your bank – If you paid by bank transfer, contact your bank immediately and flag it as fraudulent. Depending on how fast you act, it may be possible to stop or reverse the transaction.
2. Report to authorities – File reports with the FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center and your local authorities detailing the scam. Provide all details of the scam email, Bitcoin wallet, and any payments.
3. Enhance security – Change all passwords immediately using unique, complex passwords for each account. Enable two-factor authentication wherever possible. Scan devices for malware or viruses.
4. Watch for further scams – The cyber criminals may attempt further contact to get more money out of you now they know you paid once. Do not respond to any new emails.
5. Contact email provider – Report the scam/phishing email to your email provider e.g. Google or Microsoft and mark it as spam. They can use this to strengthen filters.
6. Monitor accounts – Keep a close eye on all your financial accounts and credit reports for any signs of misuse of your information over the next few months.
7. Seek help – Speak to your employer if the scammers had access to any work devices or accounts containing proprietary information. Engage computer forensics help if required.
8. Don’t blame yourself – Scammers are experts in psychological manipulation. Do not blame yourself for falling for their underhanded techniques. You are the victim here.

Is Your Device Infected? Check for Malware

If your device is running slowly or acting suspicious, it may be infected with malware. Malwarebytes Anti-Malware Free is a great option for scanning your device and detecting potential malware or viruses. The free version can efficiently check for and remove many common infections.  

Malwarebytes can run on Windows, Mac, and Android devices. Depending on which operating system is installed on the device you’re trying to run a Malwarebytes scan, please click on the tab below and follow the displayed steps.

How to Protect Yourself from the Scam

Here are some key tips to safeguard yourself from falling victim to the “I Was Planning to Say Hello” sextortion scam in the first place:

• Never pay – No matter how threatening the email seems, never pay the ransom demand. This will likely lead to further extortion attempts.
• Secure accounts – Use strong, unique passwords for all accounts, and set up two-factor authentication where possible. This makes it much harder for scammers to hack in.
• Beware suspicious links/attachments – Do not click on links or attachments from unknown senders, as these could contain malware.
• Update software – Ensure your devices, operating systems and antivirus software are updated and patched against the latest threats. Turn on automatic updates where possible.
• Back up data – Maintain an offline backup of your most important personal data and files in case of ransomware attacks. This removes leverage from scammers.
• Be skeptical – Approach any unsolicited email demanding money with skepticism, no matter how real or threatening it appears. Verify the claims being made rather than blindly panicking.
• Use an email spam filter – Effective email spam filters from providers like Google or Microsoft can automatically detect and block phishing emails before they reach you.
• Delete scam email – Do not reply to or forward scam emails, simply delete them. Reporting them as spam/phishing helps improve filters.

Staying vigilant and keeping your cybersecurity tight makes you a much harder target for predatory scammers carrying out campaigns like the “I Was Planning to Say Hello” extortion scam.

Frequently Asked Questions About the “I Was Planning to Say Hello” Scam

1. What is the “I Was Planning to Say Hello” email scam?

The “I Was Planning to Say Hello” scam is a type of sextortion phishing attack where cybercriminals send an email claiming to have hacked the recipient’s computer and gained access to compromising and embarrassing videos/information about them. The email threatens to release the sensitive material to the victim’s contacts if a ransom is not paid.

2. What are the key characteristics of the scam email?

• Claims of hacking accounts/devices to obtain inappropriate videos and information
• Threats to send adult content and other embarrassing data to all contacts
• Demand for ransom payment in Bitcoin within 24-48 hours
• Warnings not to report the scam to authorities
• Intimidation tactics and threats of life ruination

3. What is the typical ransom amount demanded?

The ransom demands are usually in the range of $500 to $2000 worth of Bitcoin. The criminals want to extort as much as possible while still making the amount seem plausibly affordable enough for victims to pay.

4. How do the criminals carry out this scam?

They use botnets to blast out emails en masse to purchased lists of credentials leaked from data breaches. Well-crafted social engineering tricks recipients into panicking and paying the ransom. No actual hacking takes place – it is all a bluff.

5. What persuasive tactics does the scam email use?

• Personalization to build false familiarity
• Shocking claims to overwhelm critical thinking
• Threats tailored to instill fear and embarrassment
• False authority implying expertise in hacking/AI
• Short deadline to eliminate careful deliberation

6. Why Bitcoin ransom payment?

Bitcoin allows anonymous, fast payments that are difficult to trace or reverse, enabling the scammers to quickly collect ransom funds without being tracked or identified. Fiat currency has more oversight.

7. Are the threats in the email real?

No, this is an empty extortion threat. The scammers have not actually hacked the recipient or obtained any compromising videos or data about them. The threats are a bluff designed to scare victims into paying.

8. Should I pay the ransom?

No, you should never pay the ransom demands. This will likely result in more extortion attempts. The scammers do not actually possess anything to release about you. Paying encourages more scamming.

9. What should I do if I get the scam email?

Do not respond to the email. Report it as phishing/spam to your email provider. Scan your device for malware just in case. Change account passwords and enable two-factor authentication as a precaution.

10. What if I already paid the ransom?

Contact your bank to try stopping the transaction and report to authorities. Enhance account security, monitor financial statements, and watch out for further extortion attempts. Do not pay any additional demands.

Staying vigilant against phishing and proactively protecting accounts/data makes one a harder target for “I Was Planning to Say Hello” extortion scammers seeking to manipulate and defraud victims.

The Bottom Line

The “I Was Planning to Say Hello” email scam uses devious psychological tactics to extort money from recipients by threatening to expose embarrassing or damaging material. However, scrutiny reveals that the sinister claims of compromised accounts, videos, and hacking tools are simply a bluff designed to trick victims into paying Bitcoin ransoms.

If you have received this scam email, stay calm and do not pay the demands. The email does not demonstrate any actual proof of hacking or access to sensitive information. Look out for red flags like poor grammar, technobabble, Bitcoin payment, and intimidation tactics.

It is highly unlikely the scammers actually possess anything incriminating on you. Paying the ransom simply makes you vulnerable to further extortion attempts. You can protect yourself by enhancing your online security, never paying ransoms, and using email spam filters.

If you have fallen victim already, act quickly to report the scam to authorities and financial institutions before the trail goes cold. Place security freezes on your credit if needed to lock down your accounts. Be vigilant for any potential misuse of your information by scammers.

Email scams can be incredibly convincing, preying on fear and embarrassment. But awareness of common techniques like used in the “I Was Planning to Say Hello” scam helps guard against being manipulated into panicking. Keep your cybersecurity tight and avoid paying any ransoms, no matter how intimidating the threats may seem.

With vigilance and proactive security habits, individuals can equip themselves to repel these hunting scammers seeking to profit off fear. Do not let them leverage sensitive content that may not even exist in the first place. Stand strong in the face of cyber extortion.