Con Artists Sending Emails To Victims Claiming They Have Webcam Recordings Of Them Watching Porn

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PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- The latest scam circulating online has to do with porn and your password. Con artists are sending emails to people across the country threatening to release compromising videos if they don't pay up.

Scam victims are receiving emails with one of their real passwords in the subject line.

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Once they get your attention, they try to extort money using an old sextortion scam, claiming they have webcam recordings of you watching adult videos and threatening to send them to your entire contact list if you don't pay up using bitcoin.

The good news is it's a scam and there are no videos, however, they do have one of your real passwords.

"If somebody saw that a hacker had your password, you could believe they had more dirt beyond that password," said Laura Hautala of CNET.

Hautala says this scam may evolve from porn threats to something you may actually fall for.

"We could see variations of this coming forward. You might get an email that's a bit more convincing that has your current password or something really recent," she said.

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With an increasing number of data breaches and easy access to other personal information online, it's likely the new "I know your password" twist on old scams will only get more sophisticated.

Experts say your best bet is to ignore the emails demanding money. Even if they appear to have personal information, don't engage.