Tinsukia Police seek public cooperation to bust online blackmail racket

After Tinsukia recorded several cases of online fraud and blackmailing
Tinsukia Police seek public cooperation to bust online blackmail racket

OUR CORRESPONDENT

TINSUKIA: After Tinsukia recorded several cases of online fraud and blackmailing, Tinsukia police are bent on unearthing the fraudsters, mostly young women who trap the gullible public to extract huge money by blackmailing them after uploading obscene videos to the victims' mobile phones.

Debojit Deuri, Superintendent of Tinsukia Police, told The Sentinel on Wednesday that around 22 cases have been reported in Tinsukia district alone and of late, the racket has established its tentacles throughout Assam. Urging people not to respond to unknown 'video calls' from young women that may lead to online trapping, Deori did not rule out involvement of strange women in the recent suicide cases that reported in Assam.

Elaborating the modus-operandi, the SP said, "It all starts with a video call where a beautiful woman appears on screen, who after few conversations, displays her pictures without clothes. The video caller and fraudsters create fake videos in sequence involving the victim using sophisticated devices within a short period of time. The caller also hacks all the contact numbers stored in the victim's mobile phone."

He further said that through that video, the caller starts blackmailing the victim and threatens to upload the video on social media unless the victim coughs up money. He further revealed that the caller keeps changing her SIM after a person is trapped. Out of shame, the victims do not share the information with their family members, they contact police only when the extortion money goes beyond their affordable limit.

Deori opined that the menace could be checked either through mass awareness programme on the usage of smartphone, particularly by elderly persons who are not well versed with online system, or by informing the police about the call details at an early stage. He, however, did not rule out use of VPN (Virtual Private Network) in the operation. So far Rs 1.5 lakh to Rs 23 lakh reportedly has been extorted from each person, said Deori. He also urged common people to build up a strong social platform to share information which may facilitate in identifying the culprits.

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