A 60-year-old music director fell prey to attempted sextortion after having an explicit video call with an unknown woman. Threatening to make the clip viral on the internet, the con forced the senior citizen to pay Rs75,000. However, he didn't succumb to the demand and lodged a complaint with the Malwani police.
Details of case
As per the case, the woman approached him on Instagram on Monday, inducing to share his WhatsApp number. At around 1.30am, he received a video call and saw the woman indulging in nudity, while asking the complainant to reciprocate the gesture. Moments later, the con sent a recorded clip of the call and demanded the money. The sextortionist threatened to upload the clip on the internet and also share it with his contacts if he didn't comply.
Based on his complaint, the police have registered a case under Indian Penal Code sections 385 (putting person in fear of injury in order to commit extortion) and provisions 66E (violation of privacy) and 67A (publishing or transmitting of material containing sexually explicit act, etc, in electronic form) of the Information Technology Act.
Modus Operandi of sextortionists
A police officer said, “Cybercriminals create a fake account using the photo of an attractive woman and then invite the target for chatting. Next, the accused convinces the target to talk on a video chat platform so that they can have cybersex. The con then discreetly records the explicit video.” It is important that one should understand the potential risks of such behaviour and be safe while being online. Never share personal information with strangers, the cop appealed.
From January till November last year, 49 sextortion cases were registered in Mumbai. Of them, just 12 cases were detected, leading to 24 arrests.
Sextortion cases from Jan to Nov 2023
Offences registered: 49
Cases detected: 12
Persons arrested: 24
FPJ Cyber Secure |
