WARNING: Accepting friend requests from strangers on Facebook could result in loss of reputation and money. It starts with harmless text conversations and then…
There’s a new scam in town and this one involves erotic video calling.
The gang targets only men but women are enlisted to set the trap. At first, they befriend the men through Facebook chats, from fake accounts. After texting for a while, the woman who is a part of the gang, video calls the man and starts stripping off her clothes, while encouraging him to do the same. The man follows suit and has no idea that the call is being recorded. Then, with their naked video recordings as evidence, the gang blackmails the victim, threatening to upload their photos on social media and send them to their friends and relatives.
Earlier they used to honey trap people but trapping them through video calls is much easier and this has increased. They often play videos of naked women, but mostly men are the masterminds.
— Senior police officer at CEN police station
Cyber Security expert Rakshi Tondon also mentioned this honey trap in his recent LinkedIn post. Watch the full video for a better understanding of the incidents.
Advice from Cyber Crime police:
- Lock your social media accounts and don’t accept requests from unknowns.
- Do not text or respond to unknown numbers or answer video calls from unknowns.
- Hide your camera with your finger if you are answering such calls.
- Report such crimes immediately to https://cybercrime.gov.in/
Remember these criminals are being easily caught. Last year also a lot of such incidents happen and the gangs were traced successfully. But still, keep your privacy and do not trust unknowns.
Stay Safe.