In a distressing incident, it has come to light that a female lawyer in Bengaluru was coerced into stripping on camera by cybercriminals who then proceeded to extort Rs 15 lakh from her.
According to reports, the fraudsters initially contacted the victim under the pretext of conducting a narcotics test. Shockingly, they kept her on a single call for an astonishing 36 hours, during which they filmed her in the nude. Subsequently, they resorted to blackmail, threatening to sell the compromising video on the dark web if she didn’t comply with their demands for money.
The victim recounted her traumatic experience to the East CEN police, disclosing that the ordeal commenced with a phone call posing as ‘FedEx’. She was informed that a package addressed to her and destined for Thailand allegedly contained illicit substances. The call was then transferred to an individual claiming to be a Mumbai police officer. This individual instructed her to download Skype and add him to the conversation, alleging that her Aadhaar number was associated with criminal activities like human trafficking and drug offenses.
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The situation took a darker turn when another individual, posing as a CBI officer named Abhishek Chauhan, joined the call. Chauhan fabricated a narrative, alleging serious charges of human trafficking, money laundering, and identity theft against the lawyer. He coerced her into divulging sensitive financial information, emphasizing the need for secrecy due to the involvement of high-profile individuals in the case. Under the pretext of verification, the victim was instructed to transfer a substantial amount of money to a designated account. Succumbing to the pressure, she complied with the demand, transferring a significant sum and also permitting unauthorized transactions on her credit card. Exploiting her vulnerability, the fraudsters then manipulated her into performing a degrading act on camera, masquerading it as a ‘narcotics test’, and issuing threats of severe repercussions if she refused.
Feeling terrified and trapped, Bhuvi eventually disconnected the call and reached out to the authorities for assistance. A case has been filed under pertinent cybercrime, extortion, and fraud laws, with the police conducting an ongoing investigation into the matter. In response to these distressing events, a spokesperson for FedEx clarified that the company never requests personal information through unsolicited channels. They emphasized the importance of remaining vigilant and promptly reporting any suspicious communications to local law enforcement.
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