Fake cop exacts Rs 2.46L for deleting man's morphed photo

A 34-year-old Bandra resident was duped of Rs 2.46 lakh by a fake cop who exacted the money on the promise of getting the man's morphed viral obscene photograph deleted.

Quoting the complainant, who runs an event management agency, the Bandra police said the man received his morphed photograph on his WhatsApp on the morning of September 17. The shocked man called the unknown number from which the photo was sent. The receiver identified himself as an official of the Mumbai crime branch. He then told the aggrieved that his morphed obscene photograph has gone viral and asked for money to get the lewd content deleted from social media. At the first instance, the fake cop took a total of Rs 72,000 in eight different transactions.

The fraudster then exacted Rs 89,000 on the pretext of getting the FIR cancelled and took another Rs 85,000 in similar fashion. At around 8 am on Sunday, the man again received a phone call from the fraudster who demanded more Rs 3.92 lakh in order to settle the matter.

Fed up with constant harassment, he finally lodged a police complaint on Monday. A case has been registered under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code as well as the Information Technology Act.