Pimpri Chinchwad: 20 Persons Blackmailed For Attending Video Calls From Unknown Numbers, Police Warns Citizens
Pimpri, 4th March 2021: Accepting friend requests from strangers on Facebook could result in loss of reputation and money. In an incident, 20 people were blackmailed by cybercriminals in the Pimpri -Chinchwad area after receiving an unknown video call on social media.
The gang targets only men but women are enlisted to set the trap. At first, they befriend the men through Facebook chats from fake accounts. After texting for a while, the woman who is a part of the gang video calls the man and starts stripping off her clothes while encouraging him to do the same. The man follows suit and has no idea that the call is being recorded. Then, with their naked video recordings as evidence, the gang blackmails the victim, threatening to upload their photos on social media and use them to their friends and relatives.
In a recent case in Pimpri, a man received an unknown video call. After seeing that a girl is stripping off her clothes, he got scared and immediately hung the call, but the call was recorded, and after some time, he received an edited video clip with the person in it. He also received a threat to pay 30,000. The gang threatened to circulate the clip between his friends, relatives, and on social media. Similarly, 20 people have received such a threat in Pimpri city.
Crime Branch ACP Prerna Katte has advised people should be aware of while receiving unknown video calls and should not fall for the threats given by cybercriminals. She further adds that once you pay the money, the demand will continue, and the amount will be increased each time. If any such incident happened, one must contact cyber police immediately.
What should be done:
– Lock your social media accounts for unknown people.
– Do not accept anonymous friend requests without verifying them.
– Do not share your mobile number with unknown people
– Do not take unknown video calls on social media.
– If you happen to receive the video call, keep your finger on the front camera.
– Do not pay the money, and immediately report to cyber police.
