With the arrest of six men from Mewat region, the Delhi Police on Wednesday claimed to have busted an “extortion racket” being operated from Rajasthan Bharatpur. Police said that the accused were blackmailing people, after contacting them over social media, in the name of edited and morphed videos.
Earlier, on October 4, The Pioneer had reported regarding the extortion and virtual sex racket being run on social media platforms such as “Facebook’ and Instagram. “During the activity, they will ask for the access of your camera or they will hack it. They will take your financial records from the phones or computer and they will take your photos, edit it or create an obscene photo and later extort you on the pretext of putting your picture in public domain. These cyber criminals will harass the victims due to which many decide to end their lives as they think that their image would be harmed in the society,” the pioneer report stated.
The accused have been identified as Waris (28), Rayees (22), Annay Khan (21), Wahid (23), Mufeed (30) and Akram (21), all residents of village Ishnaka in Bharatpur area.
According to Anyesh Roy, the Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP), Cyber Crime Unit (CyPAD), multiple complaints were received in the last few weeks regarding an online extortion racket which was blackmailing people in the name of edited and morphed videos.
“As per the complaints, the victims were contacted over social media platforms such as Facebook through profiles of attractive individuals. The victims were engaged in a brief chat and guided to a video call over Messenger or WhatsApp. During the call the victims were shown an adult clip and their video call was simultaneously recorded,” said the DCP.
“After sometime, they got extortion calls in the name of the offensive video made from the captured video chat. Amounts ranging from two to thirty thousand rupees were demanded and some of the victims succumbed to those demands before reporting it to the police,” said the DCP.
“Subsequent to receipt of these complaints, the matter was taken up for investigation and a police team was formed to nab the accused. With technical help the location of the accused was zeroed in to Bharatpur area,” said the DCP.
“A raid was conducted and six accused were arrested. During investigation, it was also found that the accounts in which money was transferred were of Alwar, Rajasthan. The accused used multiple SIM cards in commission of crime which were obtained on fake identities,” he added.
“Total 17 mobile phones used in making extortion calls and sex chats and two ATM cards along with bank account documents in which extorted money had been transferred by various victims have been recovered from their possession,” the DCP said.
“All these accused persons are in the age group of 21-30 and are actively involved in online frauds. They have studied up High School level. On preliminary scrutiny of their mobile phones, information about more than 40 victims has been found and the same is being analyzed to link them with the complaints received,” said the DCP.
“The case is still under investigation and help is being obtained from the labs of CyPAD to retrieve crucial digital evidence. Efforts are being made to identify the involvement of others,” said the DCP.
The Delhi Police on Wednesday also advised people to be cautious before accepting friend request on social media platforms from strangers or people whom you don’t know personally.
“Do not engage in video chats with strangers. Videos can be easily manipulated to harass and blackmail. Do not succumb to their blackmail and never pay any money. Immediately report to your local Police Station or on online portal and share screenshots with complaint. Do not get tricked by fake profiles, spoofed or impersonating phone numbers displayed over True Caller,” the DCP advised.
