$658 in Bitcoin was demanded in a blackmail email that appeared to come from the author’s own Yahoo address and threatened to sell personal data on darknet markets within 1 day.
A check of the Sent folder showed the message had never been sent from the account, indicating a “From: spoofing” scam rather than a hacked mailbox.
The author changed the email password and cited standard steps: avoid replying or clicking links, block and report the message, and enable two-factor authentication.
The case highlights a common phishing tactic in which scammers forge the From field to mimic a victim’s address, often pairing it with intimidation and crypto payment demands.