Three cases of cyber blackmail registered

Belgaum: A new form of cybercrime has surfaced in Belgaum, where women are being targeted through video calls by individuals posing as officials from the Mumbai Crime Branch and Intelligence Department. These criminals instructed women to remove cloths as they have narcotics in their possession , making women into undressing on camera, record the footage, and later use it to blackmail them for money. So far, three cases have been reported at the Cyber, Economics, and Narcotics (CEN) station in Belgaum.

City Police Commissioner Yada Martin revealed that this alarming scheme involves the perpetrators contacting women via email, message, phone call, or WhatsApp, falsely claiming to be representatives of the crime branch. They frighten their targets by stating that the women’s names are linked to a criminal case and pressure them into complying with their demands by threatening to involve their families.

The scammers then instruct the victims to come on camera for an interrogation. During the call, the women are coerced into undressing under the pretense of having committed a crime. The footage is secretly recorded and later used for blackmail.

hree women have fallen victim to this deceit, and Commissioner Martin has urged the public to report any such incidents immediately. He warned against trusting these fraudulent calls and emphasized the importance of alerting the police as soon as possible to prevent further exploitation.