Rising Cases of Sextortion in Mandi District Raise Concerns

Mandi, October 9: Incidents of sextortion (illegally creating explicit videos for blackmail) in Mandi district have been steadily increasing. Cunning individuals are creating inappropriate videos and blackmailing victims, demanding a ransom in exchange for not sharing the videos with their friends and relatives. The Mandi Cyber Police Station has received numerous complaints about such cases.

With growing pressure from these malicious actors, in the past two days alone, nearly a dozen people have filed complaints at the police station, expressing their distress.

The Mandi Cyber Police Station has appealed to the public not to give in to the demands of the extortionists and to refrain from engaging in any compromising social media chats. In the complaints received at the Mandi Cyber Police Station, victims have not paid the ransom to the perpetrators. Still, they have been harassed by these culprits, who have even resorted to falsely identifying themselves as Delhi Police officers, threatening arrest on charges of inappropriate behavior with a girl.

This entire deceptive game begins on social media, where the culprits engage in chats with girls using fake profiles. They progress to video calls and record these sessions without the girl’s knowledge. Shortly afterward, the perpetrators send the explicit videos to the victim through social media. From there, the real deception begins.

The cunning individuals send the videos to friends and relatives of the victim, making demands for money to prevent further dissemination of the explicit content. Victims have been scared into sending money on multiple occasions, despite the entire scheme being a scam. Sextortion is a form of cybercrime where intimate activities or images are recorded and later used for blackmail.

If you ever find yourself in such a situation, the police advise against paying any money. Instead, they recommend reporting such incidents to the authorities. These cases highlight the need for increased cybersecurity awareness and vigilance to protect individuals from falling victim to sextortion scams.