Hackers have sent out 250,000 emails to users claiming they have their naked Zoom videos and asking $2,000 in exchange.

COVID-19 has created a breeding ground for scammers. New reports show that hackers have launched a new scam against Zoom users. These hackers send emails claiming they have access to people’s naked Zoom videos. If these users want their videos back, they have to pay a ransom. 

COVID-19 Zoom Scams

The app Bitdefender has found these reports online. According to the report, the scam emails begin with a warning. The hacker will tell you that COVID-19 has forced you to use Zoom recently. With that, he’ll warn you that he has terrible news. 

The scammers claim to have made a recording “where you work on yourself.” And they don’t mean they have video of you doing push-ups. https://t.co/e3NhMPdLhA

— Gizmodo (@Gizmodo) October 30, 2020

The bad news is that the hackers have recorded videos “where you work on yourself.” Of course, the hackers don’t mean videos of you working out. After that warning, the hacker will claim that the pandemic left him with no other choice. 

What’s the Scam?

At the end of the email, the hacker will request $2,000 in bitcoin. Then, you should send the money to a cryptocurrency address. However, Gizmodo doesn’t know whether the hackers have received any money. In the Bitdefender report, the scammers have also sent out 250,000 emails to victims in the US. The attacks also began on October 20. 

What Do I Do?

Gizmodo says you shouldn’t worry if you get these emails. Most likely, these hackers do not have any naked videos of you. Hackers had attacked Zoom before. Moreover, people have gotten caught naked on Zoom in the past. However, Gizmodo says these hackers didn’t put much effort into the scam.

If you’re terrified, though, you can just tape over your webcam.

The post New Scam Asks $2000 in Exchange for your Naked Zoom Videos first appeared on Tekrati and is written by Irene Hawkins

Online workers took a forced break from Zoom calls Monday after the app reported outages in the US and UK. For a few hours, users couldn’t make video calls, although Zoom resolved the situation later. 

When Did Zoom Conk Out?

The Verge reports that the error messages started cropping up around 9 AM ET. Moreover, the website Down Detector showed widespread outages in North America and Europe. On its status page, Zoom also reported problems from users entering video meetings and webinars.

When Did Zoom Fix the Problem?

In a tweet around 11 AM ET, Zoom tweeted that it was already launching a fix. Around 12:15 PM ET, Zoom updated its status page to say they had fixed the problem. By that time, the only issues left were users unable to sign up for paid accounts. Some users were also unable to upgrade accounts. After resolving the issue, Zoom thanked its users for being patient.  

Thanks for hanging in there! We are deploying a fix now. Service should be restored for some users and we’re continuing to complete the fix for any users still impacted. We're sorry about the disruption.

Follow https://t.co/aqz5nS7fZY for updates.

— Zoom (@Zoom) August 24, 2020

Zoom’s Outage and Remote Work

Zoom’s outage proves how important teleconferencing has become during COVID-19—any interruption to the app results in work disruptions around the world. According to the Verge, lots of Twitter users got annoyed that they missed work or class because of Zoom’s problems. However, the Verge also says that a lot of users were also happy that they got a break from work or school.

The post Zoom Restores Service After Long Outage first appeared on Tekrati and is written by Sam Arnold