The Sextortion Scams: The Numbers Show We Have A Failure of Education

Even when assuming the worst, if an attacker filmed you while browsing adult websites at most they would have a movie of you making some funny faces, unless you have a habit of watching that kind of stuff with your laptop lid half closed.

Even if they managed to make a compromising movie, there is a small chance it would be seen by your friend, family or work colleagues unless they have a habit of clicking links in their spam folder.

I believe education is important, and in the United States, it is wildly underfunded at the K-12 level.

However, blaming people for being under-educated is probably as misguided, and immoral, as yelling at a short person for not being able to reach the top shelf in the grocery store. It's as wrong as going to a mental hospital and yelling at the retards that they just need to try harder, go out and get a job, and start supporting themselves.

Humans have variable intellect, and our society really wants to deny that. Sure, it's good to treat people like they are capable of making smart decisions, but the evidence is overwhelming that many of them can't. There are people who really can't tell what is real from what's been made fake. And that's not just a problem with the lower IQ people: Look at fakes in the art world as an example for how highly trained and educated people are still fooled.

So, what are the best policy decisions in a world where a significant portion of the population can't tell a half-decent photoshop from reality, or a sextortion scam from actual sextortion with real evidence?

This is an article about phishing attacks over email that is using sex and vagueness as clickbait.

There is a version of this that is identical except it shows your password in plain text.