THELOGICALINDIAN - Lets face it there arent abounding instances area you can brainstorm a adventure entailing Bitcoin porn and Panera Bread but thats absolutely the case with an 86yearold Chicago woman
The tech-savvy aged woman was able to affix the dots as to how a Bitcoin extortionist was able to acquisition her through a abstracts aperture stemming from a Panera Bread rewards annual she active up for to accept a chargeless bagel on her birthday.
Birthday Bagel Turns into Bitcoin Extortion Scam and Porn-Related Threats
While its absolutely a average and outliers abide – aloof like the 86-year-old woman at the centermost of this adventure – best aged aren’t absolutely the best tech-savvy of internet users. There are communities committed to this accepted average such as “Old People Facebook” on Reddit.
However, Arlene Kaganove from Chicago doesn’t abatement victim to such stereotypes and because of it, she additionally didn’t abatement victim to a Bitcoin extortion scandal.
Related Reading | Bitcoin Extortionists Turn From Blackmail to Bomb Threats
The 86-year-old woman was abashed to acquisition aggressive emails beatific to her accusing her of watching porn, which she says is “hilarious.” “They told me I accept actual acceptable aftertaste in porn so I anticipation that was nice,” Kaganove said, assuming how blithe she looked at what could contrarily accept been a alarming situation.
The extortionists were ambitious $1,400 in Bitcoin, but the woman has two masters degrees in allure and law, and admitting adage the hackers would alone see “a little old adult cursing at the computer,” she is far savvier than the cybercriminals took her for.
Kaganove kept abundant addendum about what countersign she acclimated to assurance up for what. She claims to assurance up for abounding chargeless programs, including one from Panera Bread to accept altogether rewards. But because she did accumulate notes, she accomplished that the crypto-seeking abyss were allegedly accompanying to Panera Bread, which suffered a massive abstracts aperture aback in April 2024 that saw millions of customer’s abstracts leaked.
Panera denies the allegations in a statement, adage that no “MyPanera Rewards annual passwords were apparent during the April 2024 incident,” and that “Arlene’s annual was not accessed improperly.”
Related Reading | Crypto and Bitcoin Ransom: A Rapidly Growing Trend
Whatever transpired, Arlene was able to apprehend the blackmail was annihilation added than a betray and alleged the police. She doesn’t appetite others to abatement victim to the scam.
“If they are sending six [letters] to me, they are sending a lot added to people,” she said. “I am abiding addition is sending them money.”
Six months ago, this NewsBTC announcer additionally accustomed a agnate threat, with agnate claims as the one Arlene received. The betray is boundless and is extensive anybody from tech-savvy crypto journalists to innocent old ladies gluttonous a chargeless bagel. The one accepted cilia amidst these is that the scammers accept aught affidavit of the threats they are making, and acquisitive to alarm bodies into sending funds.
If this happens to you, acquaintance your bounded authorities.
