Befriending stranger on FB ends in sextortion trap

When the man refused to pay, the woman shared screenshots and the explicit video with his friends online

A 31-year-old Mulund resident has become a victim of sextortion after he received a friend request from an unknown woman on Facebook. The accused induced the complainant to indulge in an explicit video call and recorded the act. She then sent the recording to the victim and demanded money from him. When the complainant refused to pay, she sent the video clip to his friends, the police said.

According to the police, the complainant had received the friend request on April 8. He accepted as the person had a common friend in her profile. The complainant then started getting seductive messages on Facebook from the stranger. He was induced into sharing his cell phone number and after some time her received a seductive message on WhatsApp from an unknown number, asking him to make a video call.

The complainant showed reluctance and so the stranger then made a video call to him victim. “They decided to mute their call and indulged in explicit activities. The woman then disconnected the call and shared a video of the act with the victim,” said a police officer.

The officer added that the complainant was asked to deposit Rs 16,000 in a bank account provided in the message or have the video shared with his friends. “When he refused to pay, the video and screenshots were shared with his friends.

He then approached the police and got a complaint lodged,” he said, adding that a case has been registered under various sections of the Indian Penal Code and the Information Technology Act.