Sextortion cases rattle Sikkim, multiple cases witnessed during 2nd wave of COVID-19

GANGTOK: Cases of sextortion  are on the rise in the state of Sikkim, informed state Police on Monday.

The police have confirmed that these cyber scammers make fake profiles on social media platforms luring the potential victim into video sex.

In the last two-three months, the Sikkim has received multiple complaints of male users being blackmailed after having intimate video chats with females online.

Talking to Inside NE, Superintendent of Police Tenzing Loday Lepcha said that the surge was seen during the second wave of COVID-19 as people often go for online intimacy due to the induced restrictions.

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"Till last year, not a single case was registered. However, during the second wave of COVID, new modus operandi of sextortion was in the rise. Its looks a well-operated gang of people is behind this", he said.

Explaining the pattern of the crime SP Lepcha said that honey-trapping starts by a friend request sent to the victim on Facebook from a profile that 'looks genuine with the profile picture of an attractive female'.

Subsequently, the victims starts getting messages and WhatsApp numbers are shared over a period of two to three days. The victim is lured into video chatting and they indulge in video sex. The gang records the video and starts blackmailing the male victims by threatening them to make the videos public in return for money ranging from 15,000-20,000.

SP Lepcha further informed that the gang does not stop even after receiving the money. The victims would get calls from new blackmailers.

In a bid to spread awareness on the crime, the Sikkim took the initiative of creating a video and urging the video to share it share it as much as possible.

"Awareness is extremely crucial at this stage. People should know about it and be cautious", added the SP.

Sextortion is crime where hackers extort money or sexual favours from people by threatening to reveal evidence of their sexual activity.

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