The Sri Lanka Computer Emergency Readiness Team (Sri Lanka CERT) has warned of a fresh surge in online extortion scams run through Facebook Messenger, Instagram and WhatsApp, with several victims reporting incidents in recent weeks.
Preliminary investigations suggest a group of fraudsters believed to be operating from India is behind many of the cases, Sri Lanka CERT said, although authorities also suspect some Sri Lankans may now be involved.
How the scam works
Contact typically begins on Instagram, Facebook Messenger or Telegram, using fake profiles posing as attractive young women. Victims receive a simple greeting, and the conversation is built up over several days to establish trust.
Investigators said the fraudsters often add the victim’s siblings, relatives or friends to their own social media contacts before making direct contact — giving them the means to apply pressure later.
Once the victim is emotionally engaged, the scammers send provocative or explicit images and steer the conversation onto a WhatsApp video call. During the call victims are encouraged to switch on their camera and undress, while screenshots or recordings are secretly captured. In some reported cases victims were blackmailed without appearing naked at all, with screenshots of suggestive messages and video calls used as leverage.
The material is then sent to the victim’s relatives or friends, along with a demand for money to stop wider distribution. Initial demands typically run from Rs. 5,000 to Rs. 10,000 but escalate quickly, and some victims have lost hundreds of thousands of rupees through repeated payments.
Money now moving through local accounts
Earlier cases involved transfers to Indian bank accounts. Recent complaints indicate victims are being told to deposit money into personal bank accounts in Sri Lanka, raising suspicions that local accomplices are involved.
Many victims approached Sri Lanka CERT only after the extortion became continuous and financially overwhelming.
The agency urged social media users to verify identities before entering private conversations, to avoid sharing intimate images or taking part in compromising video calls, and to report attempted extortion to Sri Lanka CERT or the police immediately.
Sri Lanka CERT issued a similar warning in May over a WhatsApp video call blackmail operation also traced to India.
Source: Daily Mirror.
