Two unconfirmed suicides may be attributed to the release of user information on the infidelity hookup site AshleyMadison.com, Toronto police said in a press conference Monday, according to the Globe and Mail.
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At least two clients of the Ashley Madison adultery website may have committed suicide and others have become the victims of extortion after hackers published their details online, Canadian police said on Monday.
Ashley Madison, a dating website owned by a Canadian company called Avid Life Media and which purported to facilitate affairs for married people, was the target of a hack by a group or individual called the Impact Team in July.
Evans also claimed that the Toronto police are investigating two claims of suicides stemming from the release of the information, but so far those claims remain unconfirmed.
But he cautioned it has yet to be confirmed that they are linked to the release of stolen emails and user account information from some 32 million Ashley Madison members. Its slogan, which is reflected on its website, says “Life is short. The social impact behind this leak, we’re talking about families, we’re talking about children, we are talking about wives, their male partners”.
The law firms have a website set up encouraging former Ashley Madison users to join the suit.
Evans said police had not uncovered any criminal wrongdoing on the part of Avid Life Media, and that the company is cooperating fully in the ongoing investigation. “This is affecting all of us”.
“To the hacking community, who engage in discussions on the dark web, and who no doubt have information that could assist in this investigation, we are also appealing to you to do the right thing, to acknowledge that this is a unique situation that has caused enormous social and economic fallout”, said Evans. “It’s going to have impacts on their lives”.
He addressed the Impact Team directly, saying their actions are “illegal and will not be tolerated”.
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Police said criminals capitalizing on the cyberattack were using the leaked information to try extorting people through scams that included asking for fees to purportedly delete customer data. “Can you imagine going home and people talking at the dinner table”, Evans said at a press conference in Toronto. Toronto Police’s Bryce Evans said.
