"The girl was sitting nude... that's when I disconnected"
Police in Bihar are investigating a prominent sextortion operation which is targeting men.
It is believed that there are hundreds of victims across India being lured through matrimonial sites, Facebook and WhatsApp.
Doctors, bankers and court judges are just some of the men who have fallen victim to this crime.
The sextortion operation involves using fake phone numbers or fake social media profiles to contact victims.
Victims then receive a video call.
When they answer, they are met with a nude woman on their phone screen. But unknown to the men, the footage is recorded using screen recording software.
Typically, the men are stunned by what they see and end the call after a few seconds.
The victims then receive another phone call threatening to make the nude video and their reaction viral unless they hand over money.
In many cases, the blackmailers pose as police officers.
The sextortion operation also sees the blackmailers threaten to report victims to the police.
One resident of Patna, named Ranveer, explained his ordeal.
He said that after returning home from work, he received a Facebook friend request from a woman named Priya Kumari.
Ranveer checked her profile and believed it was genuine as it showed several photos and said Priya was from Delhi.
After accepting the friend request, he began receiving messages from her.
One question he received was: “Where are you from?”
Another read: “What do you do?”
Ranveer did not think anything was wrong but he was then asked for his WhatsApp number.
As soon as he provided his number, he received a video call.
He explained: “Within no time a video call came on Messenger itself.
“The girl was sitting nude… that’s when I disconnected the call.
“A message came as soon as the call was disconnected. In this, a demand of Rs. 5,000 (£51) was made. There was a threat to make the video viral if not given.”
Another victim named Manoj is from Badoli in Haryana.
He explained that he received a Facebook friend request from a woman named Manisha Sharma.
Upon accepting the request, he received a video call.
Manoj accepted the call and was met with a nude woman. The call lasted around 20 seconds and he was unknowingly recorded.
Following the call, Manoj said he received a call from a man posing as a CBI officer. The man threatened to upload the footage on YouTube.
Manoj says a total of Rs. 178,000 (£1,800) was extorted from him.
Manoj filed a police complaint and officers launched an investigation.
The perpetrator was identified as Mewat resident Sajid and he was arrested.
During questioning, Sajid said that the SIM cards were purchased by his associates from Assam, Bihar, West Bengal and Jharkhand and other states using fake addresses.
While the criminal who blackmailed Manoj has been arrested, many more people running this operation are still at large.
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