Scam email claims it caught you watching porn

A new threat to "pay up" or else: It's an email or letter that claims you've been caught watching pornography and someone has the video of it. If you don't pay, the email states that the video will be shared with your friends and family.

I received the email, and it gets right to the point. The subject line has my name and a password I've used in the past, and it states, "I do know about your secret, and I have proof of it."

The email claims that my secret is that I've watched porn on my computer and they have proof of it.

The email states they placed malware on my computer, and that while I was watching these naughty videos, they not only recorded those videos but recorded me through my web camera and have split screen of it all. The email states, "You know doing dirty things."

The sender of this email claims to have access to all my contacts from my messenger, social networks, and email, and if I don't pay up, he'll share my dirty secret with everyone.

What do I have to pay to keep this a secret? The scammer claims his "privacy fee" is $3,200 and if I pay, my secret remains a secret.

The one big problem for the scammer -- in at least my case -- is I don't even have a web camera.

I'm not the only one getting this sextortion email. ABC11 viewers say it's also shown up in their inbox.

One viewer even received this letter in his mailbox at his home. The letter claims they also have proof of his secret. This letter specifically mentioned they caught these dirty actions while he was working in Raleigh, and that he's keeping it from his wife. In this case, the "confidentiality fee" is $7,500 and if he doesn't pay, the letter states he'll share it with all his neighbors -- even writing the street he lives on.

The scammers want payment in bitcoins but remember, no matter if it's through the mail, email, or even a phone call, you should ignore these threats, and don't pay up.

The big question is how did these scammers get access to your email, passwords, even your home address? There have been so many security breaches with data, it's likely they got that information that way. If you do think someone has access to your computer, you might want to have your computer checked for any malware.