Mumbai, August 26: A case of sextortion has come to light from Mumbai, where a 46-year-old man from the city allegedly lost nearly INR 22 lakh to a cyber sextortion. The victim, a software programmer was allegedly duped by a woman who befriended him on Facebook and reportedly lured him into an intimate video call. Police officials said that the accused woman recorded the video call and later extorted money from the victim.

The victim is a resident of Mahim, reports Indian Express. In his complaint, the victim said that he received a friend request from an unknown woman named "Poonam Sharma", who claimed to be a school teacher in Delhi. After accepting the request, the victim exchanged messages with the woman for some time. Later, when he was in the washroom, he received a video call. Sextortion in Maharashtra: Retired Bank CEO Blackmailed, Rs 4.39 Crore Extorted After Woman Threatens To Share His Nude Photos With Family; Accused Arrested.

Victim Lured Into Video Call by 'Facebook Friend'

When the victim received the call, the woman allegedly took off her clothes. This prompted the victim to hang up the call. However, the next day the victim received a WhatsApp message from Sharma who shared a recorded clip of their video call conversation. The woman threatened the complainant of uploading the video online. On the third day, the victim received a call from a man who claimed himself to be an IPS officer.

Mahim Resident Duped of Over INR 21 Lakh on Sextortion

The man told the victim that he was Dinesh Kumar from the Delhi cyber crime branch and demanded INR 21,500 to delete his video video which went viral on the internet. Following this, the complainant sent the money to the so-called IPS officer. On July 3, Kumar called the complaint and informed him that Sharma died by suicide and claimed she mentioned his name in her suicide note. Sextortion in Mumbai: Ghatkopar Resident Blackmailed With Nude Videos, Rs 5.45 Lakh Extorted After Being Lured Into Online Sex Over WhatsApp Call With Woman; Case Registered.

The IPS officer extorted more money from the complaint on the pretext of bribing the doctor, the police and Sharma’s family. The victim realised he was being duped when the so-called officer demanded more money but by then it was too late as the complainant had sent INR 21.39 lakh to the fraudsters. Meanwhile, the police have launched a probe into the matter.

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(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Aug 26, 2024 02:24 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).