Ashley Madison hack may be tied to suicides

At least two people may have committed suicide in the fallout of the Ashley Madison hack, Toronto police said Monday.

{mosads}Hackers leaked the personal information of as many as 37,000 users of the extramarital dating site last week, sparking extortion attempts and other scams.

At a news conference on Monday, Toronto Police acting staff superintendent Bryce Evans warned that the leak will have an impact on victims beyond public ridicule.

“We’re talking about families,” Evans said. “We’re talking about their children, we’re talking about their wives, we’re talking about their male partners.”

“It’s going to have impacts on their lives,” Evans said. “We’re now going to have hate crimes that are a result of this. There are so many things that are happening. The reality is … this is not the fun and games that has been portrayed.”

Some digital extortionists have threatened to send users’ data directly to family members or coworkers unless the victim transfers a ransom payment. Others have created fraudulent companies that claim to protect users’ identities for a price.

Evans appealed directly to users of the dark Web to help track down the hackers, known as Impact Team.

“To the hacking community who engage in discussions on the dark Web and who no doubt have information that could assist this investigation, we’re also appealing to you to do the right thing,” Evans said. “You know the Impact Team has crossed the line. Do the right thing and reach out to us.”

Police did not provide details on the two unconfirmed suicides.