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Patreon Hack/Fishing Emails
🕑 Added 2015-11-21 16:27:21 +0000 UTC In early October, Patreon was hacked. You can find an article about it here: http://techcrunch.com/2015/10/05/patreon-hacked-gigabytes-of-data-and-code-leaked/Today I've received a couple of reports from users that got an email from someone threatening to release their SSN and Credit Card information unless they fork over a bitcoin.
Personally, it sounds like a bullshit fishing attempt to me, and I doubt they actually have anything more than email addresses, and are just attempting to scare some money out of a few people.
I would definitely recommend that everyone update their passwords just to be safe, and perhaps contact Patreon regarding the email threat if you receive it. They may be able to pursue legal action against this person in an easier manner than it would be for individuals to attempt.
At any rate, I just wanted to post personally to inform my patrons, and make sure everyone knows what's going on. If this becomes a widespread issue, or looks like it's going to become anything more serious, I'm certain we'll hear some news about it very soon, but again, I have my doubts.
Update- Here's a response from Patreon received by one of our patrons:
Nov 21, 9:25 AM
Hey there,
Apologies for the blanket email but yes, we have received reports of
emails being sent to many of the email addresses leaked in the breach,
so you are not the only one who has received this threat.
Fortunately I can assure you that the person sending these emails is lying.
All tax forms are well protected because they are encrypted with RSA
2048-bit encryption. Additionally, tax forms are only required for US
based creators that have earned more than $600 in a year, or non-US
based creators who have received a payout from us.
Our system does not have access to your full credit card details, the
only portion that gets passed to us is the last four digits of the
number.
The unencrypted information that was leaked in the data breach does not
present a risk to your credit score or identity theft. I suggest you
report this email as spam and ignore any further emails. Do not send
them bitcoin.
I'm sorry that you had to encounter this and I appreciate you sending it
our way. Let me know if you have any additional questions.
Best,
Patreon
Comments
Beatrice Matarazzo
Yeah I got the same email as well. Pretty much right after I read this. I just laughed and deleted it. It was in my spam folder to begin with. I figured they couldn't get a hold of any important information. Mine says its from sharingservices@aol.com but the reply-to is sinclair@kenga.net. I will have to let them know what is up.
DesertCreosote
Looks like they're using hacked email accounts to receive any replies. I'd suggest seeing who is listed in the reply-to field, and contacting that domain provider (I received an email from a orlions.org account, so I tipped off their domain admin).
