Sextortion is on the rise amid lockdown: police stations are flooded with complaints. People are spending more time communicating online in the nationwide lockdown and there is noticeable rise in cybercrime cases

People are spending more time communicating online in the nationwide lockdown and there is noticeable rise in cybercrime cases

Archana More: Even as the pandemic forces many individuals and establishments to increasingly take the online route, a huge uptick has been marked in cybercrime cases, leaving the police flooded with complaints. In particular, a marked trend has been observed in cases of ‘sextortion’ — which could turn into a never-ending cycle even through an act as simple as accepting a friend request or sharing a contact number.

Only recently, in a shocking case, the mother of a 28-year-old man received a sexually explicit video of her son on one of her After sending the video to the young man’s mother, an unidentified man called him and demanded Rs 25,000 for deleting the video, failing which he would make it go viral on social media.

This is just one instance. The Pune cybercrime police have been dealing with at least 150 sextortion complaints over the last three months, even as the second wave of the COVID pandemic has hit the city. Of these, 110 complaints were filed just in the month of April.

Gangs active in this space seem to be creating Facebook, Instagram and Telegram accounts in the name of women. They try to target people with a reputation to protect on social media, and the woman befriends the man and then slowly introduces the idea of a video call for online sex.

When they are disrobed and performing sexual acts, the call is recorded and the cycle of extortion begins. Victims tend to pay up in fear of defamation. After sending the video to the young man’s mother, an unidentified man called him and demanded Rs 25,000 for deleting the video, failing which he would make it go viral on social media.

This is just one instance. The Pune cybercrime police have been dealing with at least 150 sextortion complaints over the last three months, even as the second wave of the COVID pandemic has hit the city. Of these, 110 complaints were filed just in the month of April.

Gangs active in this space seem to be creating Facebook, Instagram and Telegram accounts in the name of women. They try to target people with a reputation to protect on social media, and the woman befriends the man and then slowly introduces the idea of a video call for online sex.

When they are disrobed and performing sexual acts, the call is recorded and the cycle of extortion begins. Victims tend to pay up in fear of defamation.

When Mirror spoke to a few of the victims, a 32-year-old man, who runs a gas agency, shared, “The profile was in the name of one ‘Pooja’. After chatting on Facebook and WhatsApp for two days, she offered online sex, videocalled me and asked me to remove my clothes to perform certain acts. They recorded this and sent it to my sister and other friends. The person also threatened to post it on social media if I didn’t pay up. I was scared and transferred Rs 5,000 via Google Pay, but they kept increasing their demands.” Another victim was a 40-year doctor, who said, “They threatened to send the videos to my wife and other relatives. The woman who chatted with me demanded Rs 35,000 to delete the incriminating video. The demands kept coming, from Rs 6,000 to Rs 2,000 to Rs 10,000, day by day. I have kin and patients on Facebook, and this could ruin my career. I immediately approached the police.” A 19-year-old college student was equally terrified, and had to borrow money from a friend to pay off the blackmailers. “They demanded Rs 12,000. I was very scared and somehow borrowed Rs 5,000 from my friend. But they kept messaging and calling again and again.”

Affirming the rise in such cases, senior police inspector (SPI) Dagadu Hake of the Pune cybercrime police station (PS) said, “Typically, the victim panics. Some may get frustrated and take an extreme step. We have to conduct counseling for such victims and make them feel comfortable. We assure them that the police will help and delete those videos from social media. Today, people are spending more time communicating online in the nationwide lockdown. So, there has been a noticeable rise in cybercrime cases. We are dealing with scores of such complaints targeting various age groups. As per their modus operandi, the cybercriminals use webcams for flirting and initiating cybersex, and befriend victims online using fake identities.”

Police inspector Machindra Pandit, who deals with sextortion cases, informed, “In many cases, an attractive woman is used to lure the victim to go along with the demands. These women are often part of the gang or in desperate need of money. They threaten to circulate the clips captured via webcam among friends and family and clients of victims, placing them in a deeply embarrassing situation. Many educated people also become victim to this. Of the 150 cases we have on board, 111 are pending, while 33 cases have been sent for further inquiry. Hacking Facebook profiles and posting vulgar messages and photos is also a new trend to extort money. We have received 227 such complaints between January and May 2021.”

(https://punem)irror.indiatimes.com/pune/cover-story/sextortion-is-on-the-rise-amid-lockdown/articleshow/83045608.cms