With six cases in a fortnight of extortion after unsolicited calls, experts say all you can do is: Not answer unknown video calls on any app
Sextortionists have come up with different ways of threatening victims and forcing them to pay hefty sums of money
Taking advantage of the emotional vulnerability of people during the pandemic, sextortionists have changed modus operandi. Earlier, their targets were youngsters, but now they have moved to professionals who can pay more to save their reputation. The crooks even record videos and send explicit content to people on the victims’ contact lists.
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According to cyber experts, professionals like doctors, educationists, politicians, businessmen, bureaucrats, etc easily succumb to the pressure tactics of sextortionists and agree to pay hefty sums to them. “Post lockdown, the sextortionists have changed their modus operandi of targeting victims. Now, well-known professionals from Mumbai and nearby districts are being targeted,” said Cyber Expert Ritesh Bhatia.
Another cyber expert Govind Ray, director of Dinosys Infotech Pvt Ltd, told mid-day that the sextortionists first study the lifestyles of their victims and spend a few months online with them to win their trust before targeting them and stealing data from their cellphones.
“Recently, a well-known person contacted me with his complaint. He told me that the accused contacted him through a dating app, and later they switched over to WhatsApp chats. After taking the victim into confidence, the sextortionist asked him to download an application on his cellphone. He was told that the application was useful for making money in terms of investment,” Ray told mid-day. “The victim clicked on the link, he was asked for access to his phonebook in order to download the application. The victim followed all the instructions but there was nothing in the application. Later he removed the application, but his phonebook had been compromised by then,” he added.
“After a few days, the sextortionist resorted to sex chats with him. Later he was asked to come on video chat, but it was a recorded one. When the victim answered the video call, some explicit content was showed to him and his video recorded. Thereafter, the accused asked him to pay up or else his video would have been circulated among his contacts. Somehow he reached out to me and we rescued him,” Ray added.
“The predators have now started to create applications based on your interests and hobbies. It’s time to make privacy our first priority and the first step towards this is being aware of what application you download and the permissions and approvals you give,” he added.
He further said, “The pandemic has made us realise the importance of personal touch and conversations. This is exactly what the predators are working on. They have become more organised and technical. Intimacy is personal, which gets lost when you take it online because there is always the threat of someone else intervening.”
Bhatia added, “The sextortionists first go through your social media accounts, befriend you easily before switching over to WhatsApp chats and then video chats. Previously they would only threaten but not send explicit videos to anyone. Now they have started sending these videos to those on victims’ contact lists.”
Cyber experts further said that phonebook data makes it easier for them to target high- profile personalities. “Once you respond to a video call, a pre-recorded video is played in which a nude woman is seen dancing. When you watch the video, the accused records your screen. Then the screen recording is merged with another sexually explicit video to make it look as if you have been doing certain sexual activities while watching the dance,” Bhatia added. He further said, “Now if you don’t succumb to their pressure, they start sending those videos to people on the contact lists.”
Cyber experts suggested that people should keep their social media accounts locked “Also, never answer random video calls, as you may be trapped by sextortionists,” added Bhatia.
Case studies
MLA Prakash Surve from Magathane LS division
Speaking to mid-day, MLA Prakash Surve said, “This incident happened on November 11 at 9.20 pm. I received a WhatsApp voice call from an unknown number. I didn’t receive the call, but later got a message — ‘How are you’. I didn't reply to the message. A day later I again received a message — ‘Hello kya hua’. Immediately someone video called me on WhatsApp. I didn't respond. The woman continued calling, so when I received it, she started taking off her clothes. I immediately disconnected the call and sent a message saying, ‘don't call, otherwise I will register a police complaint’. Later the person sent me a video of myself and threatened to upload it on social media. The person demanded '5,000. I immediately informed the Dahisar police and filed a complaint.”
MLA Mangesh Kudalkar
Speaking to mid-day, MLA Mangesh Kudalkar said, “Two months back I received a Facebook message and a woman asked me for some education-related help. She also asked for my phone number and I shared it. On October 19, I received a WhatsApp video call. I disconnected it. Suddenly, I received a morphed video of the woman and me on my WhatsApp. The woman demanded money from me. I immediately informed the cyber police and filed a complaint.”
Malabar Hill businessman
Few months back, a Malabar Hill businessman received a friend request on social media. Both of them shared contact numbers with each other. Within a couple of minutes, the businessman received a video call. When he received it, a woman started taking off her clothes in the video. The screen was recorded during the call. Later, the woman started sending threat messages to him. He informed the BKC cyber police and got a case registered. However, he had to pay in lakhs to the caller. Later, a case was registered at the Malabar Hill police station.
Sextortionists arrested
>> In July 2021 BKC Cyber police arrested five accused, including a juvenile, in connection with a sextortion racket. They used to video call people and had trapped over 250 people across various cities. The accused would make fake accounts of girls on social media to lure rich and high-profile men. They had created 12 fake accounts and six fake email ids.
>> In October 2021 the Malabar Hill police arrested three people for extorting money from a South Mumbai businessman. In June he had received a follow request on Instagram from a woman and started chatting with her. The trio recorded a video of him when he was undressing and then started blackmailing him. He then transferred '37,000 to the accused online. After they demanded more money, he approached the police. Dharshan Bhati, 28, Jasraj Darji, 22, and Sawailal Darji, 22, were arrested from Gujarat. The police recovered two laptops, three mobile phones, four SIM cards and debit/credit cards which were linked to 25 banks accounts.
>> In February 2021 the Mumbai Crime Branch arrested three people for targeting politicians and professionals. The accused are from Rajasthan, Haryana and Madhya Pradesh. They operated around 171 fake Facebook accounts. Initially they would ask for '2,000-'5,000 when blackmailing a person and after receiving this, they would demand lakhs of rupees.
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