FPJ Cyber Secure: Ethical Hacking Student Loses ₹7.75 Lakh To Cyber Extortionists

Mumbai: A 22-year-old professional gamer lost around Rs7.75 lakh to unknown cyber extortionists who threatened to harm his family and coerced him into paying money at regular intervals. In his complaint lodged with the Matunga police on Friday, the Wadala resident said that he was taking class on 'Ethical Hacking' on Ubuntu, which is an open source Linux-based operating system used on computers. 

In August, he received an audio message from an unknown person at Ubuntu's console which is a command line that allows users to interact with peers. Upon hearing the clip, the complainant was shocked as the sender had detailed information regarding the whereabouts of the gamer and his family, and also knew about his day-to-day activities. 

At first, he ignored the audio message, but another message soon popped up. In this clip, the sender threatened to harm the complainant's family if he didn't obey their commands. The panicked man responded to their messages, asking what they wanted from him. The cyber extortionists asked him to make an online account at Parimatch, an international sports betting company. Then, they started demanding money and exacted a total of Rs 7,75,976 lakh. The first transaction was made on September 2 while the last one was on September 25.

According to the police, they have started a technical investigation. “It looks like more than one person is involved in the fraud. We have registered a case under sections of cheating, extortion and criminal intimidation of the Indian Penal Code as well as the Information Technology Act,” said an official.