Online Sextortion – Cyber Crime

Online Sextortion – Cyber Crime

Online Sextortion occurs when someone threatens to distribute private and sensitive material using an electronic medium if he/ she doesn’t provide images of a sexual nature, sexual favours, or money.
Sextortion is one of the increasingly prevalent internet crimes, but still it is not well-defined or understood due to absence of any direct laws and legislation on it. As new technology is making and makes it more challenging for the regulators to regulate it

Sextortion also refers to a form of blackmail in which sexual information or images are used to extort sexual favors from the victim . Social media and text messages are often the source of the sexual material and the threatened means of sharing it with others.

An example of this type of sextortion is where people are extorted with a nude image of themselves they shared on the Internet through sexting. They are later coerced into performing sexual acts with the person doing the extorting or are coerced into posing or performing sexually on camera, thus producing hardcore pornography.

The Cyber police in Mumbai have received at least five complaints over the last two months where citizens, after visiting pornographic websites, found themselves being extorted with records of their online activities as leverage.

Cyber police officers said that sextortion is done using various methods. One modus operandi consists of chatting with an unsuspecting victim posing as a girl and getting them to send compromising pictures of themselves, which are then used for blackmail.

Another involves placing links on pornographic websites which, if clicked on, record the victim’s activities. A particularly serious form of sextortion also includes extorting sexual favours from the victim instead of money, officials said.

According to Mumbai Cyber police officials, two women and three men have approached them over the last two months with similar complaints. “The victims, in their complaints, have stated that they visited certain pornographic websites, after which they received emails within a day or two. The emails had their full names and all the logs of the content that they had watched, along with a message demanding money in the form of bit coins. The emails went on to say that the entire victim’s social media account details had been obtained, and that the entire record of their pornographic activities would be exposed on all these platforms,” a Cyber Crime officer said.

The officer added that in all the five cases, the victims sought the police’s help to trace the perpetrators and make the extortion stop.
However, all of them declined when asked to file an official complaint, fearing that they would be disgraced once their experiences became part of public record.

Sextortionists commonly employ the technique known as “catfishing” to deceive their victims into willingly sharing explicit content or secretly recording them during sexual activities .

These criminals specifically target individuals through fabricated profiles on social media platforms such as Facebook or dating apps like Tinder and OkCupid.

In a particular case, an unidentified sextortionist, masquerading as a woman, established a connection with a male victim on OkCupid and initiated sexually suggestive conversations. The victim, under the impression that the sextortionist had genuine romantic interest, consented to engage in “cybersex” via Skype.

Email Phishing

Email phishing and malware are commonly employed tactics by sextortionists to gain unauthorized access to a victim’s webcam,computer data, or social media accounts.

Sextortion and “revenge porn” are sometimes confused by scholars, the media, and the general public. However, while these offenses are often linked, they are not interchangeable.

“Revenge porn,” more accurately termed “nonconsensual porn,” involves the unauthorized distribution of a victim’s explicit material. The connection between these crimes that contributes to the confusion lies in sextortion often involving a threat to disseminate revenge porn unless the victim complies with demands.
Although both are internet-related sexual crimes, sextortion relies heavily on coerced silence for its success. If a sextortionist gains access to a victim’s private material, they do not immediately publish it. The primary objective is typically to obtain sexual content or money, with the victim’s silence and fear of humiliation being critical to achieving this objective.

In contrast, revenge porn focuses on the perpetrator’s aim to publish the victim’s sexual material, with the victim’s silence being less significant in achieving this goal. Sextortion and “revenge porn” are distinct but related forms of cyber exploitation, each with its own dynamics and implications.

Offenders in such crimes usually thrive on the victim’s silence and lack of clarity in the law. Hence, everyone needs to be aware of the codes and sections that will help them in such cases.

Section 108(1)(i)(a) of the Criminal Procedure Code empowers the victim to call the magistrate of her locality and inform him/her about the person whom she believes could circulate any obscene matter. The magistrate has the power to detain such person(s) and can order him to sign a bond to stop him from circulating the material.

This might deter the accused. This is a quick remedial section because the victim can lodge the complaint with the magistrate without any direct evidence against the accused.

Section 292 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) incriminates any person who distributes or threatens to disperse any intimate and compromising images of someone through any electronic means, including apps and other social media. If a picture of woman is clicked in an obscene manner without her knowledge and is distributed, a voyeurism case under

Another section of penal code that is attracted is Section 354C, which talks about offence of Voyeurism, an offence committed by the offender which infringes the privacy of a women, which means if any obscene pictures taken where the women usually expect privacy is circulated is punishable with 1 year which can be extended to three years and shall be liable to fine.

Under section 383 of Indian Penal Code, , cases dealing with “Extortion” is dealt, in which the modus operandi is the threat or fear used in order of delivery of the material thing by the victim to the offender.
Section 72 of the Information Technology Act, 2008, criminalizes the act where the privacy is breached by the offender by means of gaining access to electronic records’, such as information, books etc. without the consent of the victim discloses such material to any other person, is liable and punishable for 2 years with the fine of Rs.1 lakhs

1. Do Not Engage:
   ● Cut Off Contact: Immediately cease all communication with the perpetrator. ● Do Not Pay: Do not give in to any demands for money or other favors.
2. Gather Evidence:
   ● Screenshots: Take screenshots of all messages, emails, or other communications.
   ● Records: Keep records of any payments made or information shared. ● Save Files: If possible, save any explicit images or videos sent or received.
3. Seek Help:
   ● Trusted Adult: Talk to a trusted friend, family member, or professional counselor about your experience.
   ● Support Groups: There are online support groups and organizations that can provide emotional support and guidance.
4. Report to Authorities:
   ● National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal: Visit https://cybercrime.gov.in/ and file a complaint.
   ● Local Police Station: You can also file a complaint at your nearest police station. Make sure to mention that the crime is related to online sextortion.
5. Contact Your Bank:
   ● Fraud Alert: If you’ve made any payments, immediately contact your bank to report the fraudulent transaction and request a chargeback.
6. Seek Legal Advice:
   ● Lawyer: Consulting a lawyer specializing in cybercrime can provide valuable guidance and support throughout the legal process.
   Additional Tips:
   ● Do Not Delete Evidence: Keep all evidence, as it can be crucial in the legal process.
   ● Change Passwords: Change your passwords for all online accounts. ● Review Privacy Settings: Adjust your privacy settings on social media and other online platforms.
   Take Legal Advice on Online Sextortion
   Connect With Advocate Tabish Ahmad – Cyber Crime Lawyer

Landmark Cases on Online Sextortion

1. Soukin v. The NCT State New Delhi

Recently the Delhi High Court in the matter of Soukin v. The NCT State New Delhi has held that sextortion represents a profound violation of privacy and is a significant social menace. 

The FIR in the present case was registered at the instance of the complainant namely, Dewan Singh Malik who alleged that on 10th October 2022, he received a WhatsApp video call from an unknown lady, who insisted for private video call and later recorded the video call. 

■ Thereafter, the complainant received several calls from different mobile numbers who introduced themselves as police officers/YouTube employees and extorted a total amount of ₹16 Lakhs on the pretext of removing the video from YouTube, Facebook, Instagram and by threatening him of false accusation in the murder case of the lady in the video and on the pretext of settling the matter with her family. 

■ During interrogation, the accused persons disclosed the names of the present applicants along with other accused persons. They stated that they used to commit such offences along with the present applicants. 

■ Thereafter, the applicants filed a pre-arrest bail application before the Delhi High Court for offences punishable under the Sections of the Indian Penal Code, 1860 (IPC). 

■ Considering the nature of the offence, no ground for grant of pre-arrest bail to the applicants is made out. 

■ Justice Amit Mahajan observed that sextortion represents a profound violation of privacy and is a significant social menace. It involves the

exploitation of obtained intimate images and videos to extort money or favors from victims, often leading to severe psychological trauma. ■ This cyber-enabled crime not only undermines individual dignity but also poses serious challenges to law enforcement due to its clandestine and cross-jurisdictional nature. 

2. The State of West Bengal v Animesh Boxi judgement passed by Calcutta High Court on 3 january ,2018 which marked the first conviction for offense of Revenge Porn on International Women’s Day. In this case, a 23-year-old man was sentenced to five years in prison for distributing “revenge porn” depicting a 20-yearold woman who had ended their relationship 

3. . In the case of United States v. Carlock, for example, a union official was convicted for coercing female workers into sexual acts under the threat of economic repercussions, demonstrating the implicit recognition of such behavior within the legal system.