Recent Sextortion Cases In The Nation Before Abbuzar Rehman Case

With the growing sextortion cases and the Abbuzar Rehman case catching people's attention, let's have a look at some of the recent cases which took place this year.

The term "sextortion" is used by the police to refer to crimes when the victim's personal information, photographs, or films are used as leverage to extort money or sexual favours.

Suggested Reading: 22-year-old Abbuzar Rehman apprehended by Cyber Cell Following Money Extortion Complaint

4 Sextortion Cases before Abbuzar Rehman

1. A sextortion case from Dwarka included a 71-year-old man who was subjected to "sextortion" when a lady recorded him speaking to her on camera. The man subsequently got a call informing him that the woman had committed herself and that, if he didn't pay, he would be prosecuted for aiding in suicide. The police officer involved in the situation stated that a 20-year-old man from Rajasthan who claimed to be a member of an internet cheating group was arrested in connection with the case. Additionally, he claimed that con artists occasionally dress up as police officers to demand money from the people.
2. Another sextortion case is from Mumbai and includes a team of cyber-fraudsters, including one who pretended to be a police officer on a video call and victimised a 43-year-old man who works in the healthcare industry in the private sector. They demanded Rs 7.53 lakh from him. The 43-year-old man reported to the police that he had received a friend request from a woman by the name of Ankita Sharma via Facebook. They began speaking on Facebook Messenger after he accepted her friend request. The woman then started stripping while on a video call. She requested his mobile number when he cut off the call. He gave her his phone number, and she contacted him on Whatsapp while she was still fully clothed and asked him to reveal his face.
3. Another incident occurred in Delhi, where Rakesh, 60, a businessman, was tricked by a young woman's WhatsApp message. When he agreed to the request, a pornographic video appeared on his screen and the conversation soon ended. A minute later, he received a threatening phone call demanding 80,000 rupees. He was warned that if he did not comply, a video call recording of him watching the offensive content would be circulated around his family members and posted on social media. He paid the sum, and two individuals posing as officers from the Crime Branch of the Delhi Police and representatives from YouTube then called him on WhatsApp and wanted an additional 6.50 lakh rupees by presenting him with a fake FIR.
4. Another case includes Hari, a 48-year-old worker at a finance company, who got a message on Facebook. He assumed the message was from a single woman, so he agreed to a video conversation and was tricked into paying $34,000.