Various York University community members have received a phishing email which appears to be coming from the recipient themselves. The email is written in French, and states that the user's account has been compromised. The attacker claims to have explicit videos of the user and demands €1200 (euro) in bitcoin to prevent this footage from being released to the user's email and social media contacts. 

This is a classic attack that has been circulating the internet for some time. Its aim is to target the user's emotions to trigger an immediate response and make a mistake. Please be aware that your device is NOT compromised, and you can safely disregard and delete the email.  

You can also report these email as Phish using the Cofense phish reporting button and the Information Security team is working on preventing emails like these from being delivered to end users inbox. 

If you have any questions or concerns, please contact askit@yorku.ca 

For more information on the report phish button: https://infosec.yorku.ca/services/how-to-report-a-phishing-email-via-the-phish-button/