Conman makes woman strip on video call for ‘body verification’

The woman initially fell into a depressed state and didn’t speak of the incident to anyone. Representation pic/iStock

In the latest case of digital arrest and online exploitation, a 26-year-old Borivli-based woman was forced to transfer Rs 1.78 lakh to a fraudster posing as a CBI officer from Delhi. The fraudster told the woman that he was carrying out an investigation into a money laundering case and also recorded a nude video of her, claiming that it was part of the body verification process. He then started to threaten to make the video viral on social media.

According to police sources, the complainant resides in Borivli and works with a private company in Andheri. She received several calls on her mobile number and upon answering, the fraudster introduced himself as a CBI officer from Delhi.

Later, citing privacy concerns for the investigation, the fraudster compelled the woman to book a hotel room. The woman complied out of fear. The fraudster then made a video call, showing information about a person named Naresh and linking him to money laundering activities. Gradually, the fraudster extracted the woman's bank details and withdrew '1.78 lakh from her account.

However, the harassment didn't stop there. Claiming that a "body verification" was required as part of the investigation, the fraudster manipulated her into undressing during a video call. He recorded the call and later threatened to make the video viral on social media.

Following the incident, the woman fell into a depressed state and didn't speak of the incident to anyone. However, after repeated threats from the fraudster she spoke about it with her relatives who suggested filing a complaint. She reported the incident to the Andheri police on Friday and a case was registered under various sections of BNS and IT Act. The police have begun investigations.

"We have seen many cases of digital arrest fraud but this is probably the first case of making a nude video of a woman in the name of investigations. Cyber police are repeatedly informing people not to entertain unknown calls. No agency across the country conducts a digital inquiry of any case in this manner. If someone claims to be doing this, it should be considered a scam and immediately a complaint should be filed on the cyber helpline number by calling 1930. The incident can also be reported at the nearest police station," said an officer from Andheri police.

'1.78l
Amount illegally transferred from woman's account