Hyderabad: Honey-trapping, a new way of cheating, has surfaced in recent times wherein males are targeted by women who sweet-talk them into sending their private pictures and information, and then blackmailing them.
Earlier this month, a resident of LB Nagar, in Hyderabad said that he got a friend request on Facebook from a woman from Singapore, which he accepted. The name read Criztine Lea Wetpacks. After accepting it, she told him that she is working in a dental clinic and is interested in making new friends. From then on, they often used to have short chats and after a while, she asked him for video chats.
“Things went well until Tuesday when I received an obscene video and pictures (of myself) that seemed to be morphed, on my WhatsApp, from an unknown number who started threatening me by demanding that they would post the video and pictures to all my near and dear ones on social media and will damage my reputation if I don't send the money,” the victim said. The victim is in the event management business and has a respectable reputation. The constant threats worked and he decided to transfer Rs 30,000 rather than risk being exposed.
The worldwide surge in such cases has hit India too, but the cyber crime police are yet to get cracking. Reason: threatened with exposure of their explicit videos on YouTube and other platforms, the mostly male victims prefer paying the extortion money rather than lodging complaints.
Cyber law consultant, Rajesh Sahoo says that such cases are not being studied systematically by the cyber crime department. “A few individual cases were reported in Chennai and Hyderabad. If cases are consolidated, NGOs can take the lead to respond appropriately,” he said.
Additional DCP, Cyber Crimes Hyderabad, KCS Raghu Vir says the scamsters use fake photographs and multiple social media platforms, even matrimonial websites, to extract pictures, videos and even information from them and later demand money. “Fraudsters are using social media and internet to exploit the innocent and fleecing them,” said an official from the Cyber Crimes police.
Sleuths use tactic on cheating spouses
‘Detective agencies’ have added this method of trapping in their services to cater the 'customers' who doubt their spouse. “Honey trapping is one of thrilling investigative methodology that utilises romantic and/or physical relationships for an interpersonal, political or monetary purpose to the detriment of one party involved in this illicit affair,” reads a website's bio which also offers services like Loyalty Test Investigation, Surveillance and Infidelity or Cheating Spouses among several others, with an option of online payment, with a minimum charge of Rs 5,000.
According to its description, “Honey Trap/Trapping is a tool to check the fidelity and trustworthiness of partners in a relationship. A woman can employ a Honey Trapper or a Honey Trap agency to test her partner's, fiancés or husbands fidelity. This will usually mean that a female or better known as the Honey Trapper will to try to get involved in a romantic or sexual relationship with the target, which is the boyfriend, fiancé or the husband but any compliance with these advances and the honey trapper will disassociate themselves instantly”.
City police officials said that they haven't started a crackdown on this yet. “We have not come across platforms with services like this. We will definitely start a probe and check for its legitimacy,” said a senior police official from the SOT.
