A 31-year-old Ghatkopar-based man became the latest victim of the sextortion fraud and paid ₹1.69 lakhs to fraudsters, who threatened to make his nude photos and videos public.
The victim, who works in a marketing firm, received a link on Telegram on May 15, late at night, and as he clicked the link, it took him directly to WhatsApp chat box. A woman named Roshni Goyal started talking to him and the conversation lasted up to an hour after which she asked him if he wanted to talk over video call.
Upon saying yes, she called her and as soon as he received the call, a woman was standing with no clothes on. She encouraged him to undress as well and then after 3 minutes the call got disconnected.
The victim tried to call back but it didn't connect. After an hour, the victim got a call from a man, from an unknown number, who threatened her to leak his photo and video that they captured during the video call with Roshni Goyal. The caller told him if he didn't want the footages of him "indulging with a nude woman" being circulated among his friends and family members, he would have to pay them.
Victim duped into sending money
Unable to properly gauge the situation, the victim started making transactions. The demands from the caller kept on increasing. From ₹15,200 to 50,000 the victim sent several amounts one after the other. Eventually, the caller told him "his boss" wants to talk who said the photos and videos will be only deleted more ₹20,000. The victim who ran out of money, asked his friend for money after narrating the entire incident to him.
He later realized that it was a case of sextortion after which he registered a complaint by calling 1930, a toll free number to register cyber related offences. After registering the complaint, he approached the Ghatkopar police too and registered a complaint against unknown persons.
A case has been registered under sections 384 (extortion), 419 (cheating by personation), 420 (cheating) and 500 (defamation) of the Indian Penal Code and relevant sections of the Information Technology Act.
The Ghatkopar police on Tuesday initiated a probe against the unknown cyber fraudsters and are also looking for similar crimes with same modus to investigate their pattern.
FPJ Cyber Secure |
