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AshleyMadison Data Used in Extortion Attempts, Police Say

A screen shot of the Ashley Madison website. — A screen shot of the Ashley Madison website.
Photographer: Carl Court/Getty Images

By

Gerrit De Vynck

August 24, 2015, 3:05 PM UTCUpdated onAugust 24, 2015, 6:03 PM UTC

Law enforcement agencies have found evidence of extortion attempts related to the hacking of AshleyMadison.com, a website that facilitates hook-ups between would-be adulterers.

Blackmail attempts have been made against people whose personal information may have been included among data released by the hackers last week, Toronto Police Acting Staff Superintendent Bryce Evans said at a news conference Monday. AshleyMadison’s parent company, Avid Life Media Inc., is based in Toronto.