A Bengaluru-based woman lawyer was duped of over Rs 14 lakh and made to strip on video for a fake ‘narcotics test’. Scammers allegedly blackmailed her of selling nude videos on the dark web and tried to extort an additional Rs 10 lakh from her, after which she finally lodged a police complaint.
The scam!
As per the lawyer’s complaint, the ordeal began on April 3 when she got a call from someone pretending to be FedEx, saying that a parcel in her name had been returned. The scamsters told her that the parcel is expected to be sent from Mumbai to Thailand, containing five passports, three credit cards and 140 pills of the banned drug MDMA, among others.
On April 5, the fraudsters, pretending to be from the Mumbai cyber crime team and the CBI, made her join a Skype call which lasted a harrowing 36 hours where the 29-year-old was practically held hostage, with her video camera or microphone on at all times.
“After they took all the money, Abhishek Chauhan asked me to get ready for narcotics drugs test. I was forced to strip and asked to make lewd videos while the camera was on. They threatened and abused me to continue doing so or they would arrest me and my family in a drugs case and also kill or hurt me and my family,” the lawyer mentioned in the FIR.
And the investigation continues
From what is understood, the scammers threatened the lawyer to kill her and her family members in the drug case and imprison her. However, the police have reported that a case under the Information Technology Act has been filed against the scammers and the investigation is underway.
Critics argued that the whole scam can be associated with the FedEx scam, as early cases suggest. However, a FedEx spokesperson mentioned that it does not seek personal information through random phone calls, mail or email for goods being shipped or held without customers’ approval. Furthermore, it is advised that if users receive such calls or messages, they should contact the local law enforcement authorities.
