"Hello, pervert" Email: What to Know

(I already have an answer, but here's some info to help the community.)

If you receive a "Hello, pervert. I've sent this from your own _______ account." email, IGNORE IT. Don't transfer any Litecoin. Just IGNORE IT.

This email is an automated messages sent to random emails (looks like only Apple members [whether they signed up with an iCloud, Yahoo, or Microsoft email]). They replace certain text in the email (example: "...from your own _______ account...") to make the email seem like it was written to you and it is dangerous.

About the Pegasus virus they mention,

• They want to sound scary and make you think your devices are compromised.

• It doesn’t matter if your devices are insecure — unless you clicked a malicious link or installed something dangerous, they have no way to put Pegasus on your device.

• The email is Most likely text-only, no links, no attachments, so there’s literally no way for Pegasus or any malware to reach you through that email.

• The email may mention you only have 48 hours or some amount of time left as soon as you open the email, but this is fake because they have no way to track you in an email only containing text. However, check for Tracking Pixels (Tiny pixel images that when your email client or browser loads the image from the sender’s server, it can notify the sender that you opened the email. [There are most likely no tracking pixels but check to be safe.]) If the email has a link and you did not click it, you are safe. Just do not touch it.

About the "From your own _______ account.", you are SAFE. If you look at the real email address (not the display name) and it has the same prefix (example: if YOUR email is Pref1x@Icloud.com) as your email, but a different ending (example: the scammer's email is Pref1x@webs1te.com), they do not have access to your account. They (or likely a bot) took your email prefix and created a whole new email on a different service provider and is in no way connected or linked to yours.

You likely don't have any recorded sensitive info to be exposed, and your social media friends and contacts are safe. However, if you are still scared or feeling uneasy, then go ahead and reset your account password here or go to the iCloud website, sign in, then reset your password there.

Conclusion: They cannot have Pegasus on your devices just because you read the email. Their claim is 100% bluff. They do not have any sensitive info of you, and you are safe. You can go ahead and report the email.