Bengaluru: A seemingly innocuous Facebook connection turned into a sextortion trap for a head constable attached to Hebbal police station, after an unidentified person created morphed obscene images of him and threatened to circulate them unless he paid money.The fraudster allegedly used the cop’s old Facebook photographs to create the explicit content and sent the images along with a QR code, warning that they would be shared with senior police officers and uploaded on social media if he refused to pay.According to a complaint filed by Rakshith (name changed), he is one of the staff members looking after the social media cell and other work at the station. He stated that he received a friend request from a Facebook account named “Siya Gowda” on Sept 16, while he was on security duty during a Ganesha immersion procession at Cholanayakanahalli in Hebbal and was scrolling through his Facebook account around 9 pm.After accepting the request, Rakshith allegedly received several sexually explicit messages through Messenger. Rakshith was carried away with the messages, and he too replied to them in a similar manner for the next 30-40 minutes.Rakshith claimed that the person behind the account downloaded his old photographs from Facebook and used them to create morphed obscene images and videos showing him with women, using AI tools.According to his complaint, the accused then sent the morphed images and videos to him along with a QR code, demanding money and promising to delete the material if he paid.The fraudster also threatened to send the morphed images and videos to senior police officials and upload them on social media if he failed to comply, warning that the move would damage his reputation.The constable sought action against the person operating the account. He also submitted copies of the messages and morphed photographs along with his complaint, a senior officer said.“Being in the police department, accepting the stranger’s friend request and falling into the trap after the fraudster sent him sexually explicit and obscene messages is an unacceptable mistake by the head constable. He should have unfriended the account soon after he received such messages. We suspect that the fraudster has also saved the messages sent by the constable and taken screenshots of them,” the officer added.The harassment continued till Sept 18. Hebbal police have registered a case under Sections 66E (punishment for violation of privacy), 67A (punishment for publishing or transmitting material containing sexually explicit acts, etc., in electronic form), and Sections 308 (extortion) and 351 (criminal intimidation) of BNS. Police have taken measures to ensure that those images and videos are not uploaded on social media and are making efforts to nab the fraudster.Inset -1How to stay away from fraud-Do not accept friend requests from unknown or suspicious profiles-Never engage in sexually explicit conversations with strangers online. Such chats can be recorded and used for blackmail-Keep social-media profiles private and limit access to photographs, friends’ lists and personal information-Do not share intimate photographs, videos or personal details-Do not pay the blackmailer. Report cybercrime immediately through the 1930 cybercrime helpline
