{"id":2613,"date":"2018-08-09T21:45:43","date_gmt":"2018-08-09T21:45:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ptp.cloud\/ptp\/?p=2613"},"modified":"2025-06-25T01:47:37","modified_gmt":"2025-06-25T05:47:37","slug":"a-personal-attack","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ptp.cloud\/a-personal-attack\/","title":{"rendered":"When Your Password Is the Subject Line: A Personal Encounter with a New Email Scam"},"content":{"rendered":"[et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ _builder_version=”4.16″ _module_preset=”default” custom_padding=”0px|||||” da_disable_devices=”off|off|off” global_colors_info=”{}” da_is_popup=”off” da_exit_intent=”off” da_has_close=”on” da_alt_close=”off” da_dark_close=”off” da_not_modal=”on” da_is_singular=”off” da_with_loader=”off” da_has_shadow=”on”][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.16″ _module_preset=”default” custom_padding=”0px||0px|||” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.16″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.16″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”]\n

Have you recently received an email with one of your actual passwords in the subject line?<\/p>\n

There is a new email attack circulating where scammers claim they\u2019ve stolen your password and hijacked your webcam. Your password was most likely found in one of the many databases of leaked emails and passwords circulating on the internet.<\/p>\n

I know this because it happened to me.<\/p>\n

A few days ago, I was trying to track down an old email and ended up looking in my \u201cJunk\u201d folder. The subject of one of the emails caught my eye. It displayed one of my personal email addresses followed by an old password that I recall using long ago for social media accounts.<\/p>\n

Knowing that my mail client is set not to download remote content\u2014and against my better judgment\u2014I clicked to preview the email. It contained the message below:<\/p>\n[\/et_pb_text][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/ptp.cloud\/ptp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/password-scam-post-feature.jpg” title_text=”password-scam-post-feature” _builder_version=”4.16″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_image][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.16″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”]\n

After a quick read, I knew it was a scam. But the idea that my email address and an actual password were \u201cout there\u201d and up for grabs was more than a little disconcerting.<\/p>\n

I knew I had been vigilant about changing passwords, using stronger ones, and relying on a password manager like 1Password<\/a> to keep control of my logins. Even with this confidence, I spent a few hours checking accounts to ensure that password wasn\u2019t still in use. I actually found one account still using it\u2014and changed it immediately.<\/p>\n

After some research, I found that this scam has been spreading for months. It appears my password was leaked from one of the well-known data breaches: Adobe, Dropbox, Yahoo, eBay\u2014or even Myspace (yes, I had a Myspace account).<\/p>\n

You can check if you\u2019ve been impacted by one of these breaches at Have I Been Pwned<\/a>.<\/p>\n

This incident reinforced everything I already knew about password security. Unfortunately, it can still happen to anyone\u2014even someone who works in cybersecurity.<\/p>\n

Steps to protect yourself:<\/strong><\/p>\n