Online fraudsters have adopted a new modus operandi to dupe, blackmail, and extort money from people. Yes, you read that correctly; a scam involving nude video calls and blackmail is fairly common in Assam’s Tinsukia district.
In this context superintendent of police, Debojit Deori held a press conference in the Tinsukia district on Tuesday along with the district's additional superintendent of police Ripunjoy Kakati was also present.
Presenting the information regarding online fraudsters flourishing in the district, Deori notified that from young people to senior citizens have become the victims of the cyber criminals running an extortion racket.
The Tinsukia Police further informed that people are receiving video calls from random numbers. When they answer the phone, they are greeted by a half-naked girl and if the victim responds in kind, the scammers record the videos or take screenshots and threaten to post them on social media, and if not they demand the victim pay a large sum of money in order to refrain from posting photos or videos.
Five to six people are becoming the victim of this extortion racket on a daily basis and sources claimed that one person from Tinsukia has lost 20 lakhs to these scammers.
Further the Superintendent of Police urged the victims of such online frauds to come forward and make complaints against those who commit such frauds so that the police can take appropriate and stringent action.
As the 2021 NCRB data shows that in Assam, out of the total 4,846 cybercrime cases in 2021, the Tinsukia district is currently becoming the hub of Cyber Crime.