E-Paper
Chandigarh: Female constable falls prey to cyber criminals, loses ₹43 lakh
Had clicked on a link and downloaded an app, following which scammers stole pictures from her mobile phone and morphed them to blackmail her, say Chandigarh Police
Threatening a female constable of character assassination by morphing her pictures after gaining access of her mobile phone, cyber criminals coerced her into paying ₹43.8 lakh.
Cyber police have launched a manhunt for the criminals, who targeted the 35-year-old constable by sending a link to her mobile phone.
The constable told the police that she first received a link in January 2023 to download “Real Money” mobile app. Unsuspecting, she downloaded the app and submitted her bank details, which was followed by a quick credit of ₹1,800 in her bank account. It was then that she realised that it was a loan app.
After the realisation, she said, she made repeated failed bids to return the money. After four days, she received similar notifications from more loan apps, including from See Money, Hello Cash, One Cash, S Cash, Sea Money, D Money (Okay Lends), T Loan (Swift Loan), U Cash, Fast Cash, Living Loan and Loan Planet.
When she clicked on these notifications, she received messages from numerous phone numbers, including international numbers, citing that she had availed loan from them.
The constable added that the fraudsters sent messages regarding these fake loans to the contacts saved in her mobile phone.
They also shared her fake objectionable pictures and threatened to post them further on adult sites, following which she ended up paying ₹43.81 lakh to them to avoid defamation. She met their demands by borrowing money from her colleagues and other associates.
Through the apps, they accessed the data on her mobile phone and morphed her pictures to blackmail her, she alleged. After facing sheer humiliation and harassment for months, she lodged a complaint with the cyber police.
The unidentified accused have been booked under Sections 384 (extortion), 419 (cheating by personation), 420 (cheating), 467 (forgery of valuable security), 468 (forgery for purpose of cheating), 471 (fraudulently or dishonestly using a document as genuine), 509 (word, gesture or act intended to insult the modesty of a woman) and 120-B (criminal conspiracy) of the Indian Penal Code at the Cyber Police station in Sector 17.
In September last year, Chandigarh Police’s cyber crime branch had busted an instant loan app racket with the arrest of 33 people.
Talking about the modus operandi, a police official said fraudsters blackmail people who install instant loan apps on their devices. They access victims’ private media from their mobile phones through the app and extort money.
Investigations so far have found 1,578 linkages across the country and 89 first information reports have been registered. “Over 60 people blackmailed through this modus operandi have committed suicide all over India and people also hesitate to lodge a complaint, as the scammers morph their pictures and threaten to circulate them on social media,” the official added.
