Since 2018, a constant stream of extortion email scams have been targeting users with fake threats designed to scare you into sending a payment in bitcoins to avoid an embarrassing leak or threat of legal action. These extortion emails are being sent through large spam botnets or through smaller campaigns undertaken by lone attackers. According to a new report by Symantec, between January 1st and May 29th, 2019 they have blocked approximately 289 million extension emails from reaching their clients. These scams range from your common “sextortion”” scams to outlandish about a hitman targeting you.”
Source: https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/security/extortion-emails-on-the-rise-a-look-at-the-different-types/