A new wave of digital extortion scams in India is targeting ordinary citizens
Cyber criminals are using morphed images of their family members. Cybercriminals are stealing pictures from social media, editing them into obscene or violent content using AI tools, and threatening to leak them unless money is paid. These attacks are personal, psychological, and extremely damaging—especially when children, spouses, or elderly parents are involved.
In 2024, a Pune-based school teacher received WhatsApp messages containing explicit morphed images of her daughter, pulled from her Facebook gallery. The blackmailer demanded ₹50,000 and threatened to circulate the photos to school groups. The family was forced to approach cyber police under trauma. Similar incidents have been reported in Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh, and Assam—victims include homemakers, professionals, and minors.
These criminals operate anonymously, often using foreign numbers, encrypted email addresses, and Telegram bots. They use AI-powered face-swapping tools like DeepFaceLab, FaceMagic, or even basic mobile apps to insert innocent faces into pornographic content. The final image looks disturbingly real and is used to emotionally blackmail victims into silence and payment.
What makes this worse is how easily these photos are accessed. Public Instagram profiles, tagged Facebook images, school newsletters, or even matrimonial sites are scraped to collect target material. Once one family member is compromised, the attacker threatens to target more unless payments are made. Some even create fake profiles using these morphed photos to destroy reputations further.
In Chennai, a businessman’s teenage daughter was targeted through images lifted from her class WhatsApp group. The attacker demanded ₹1 lakh and sent doctored images to relatives before being tracked down by cybercrime authorities. Such cases are rising, especially among families unaware of digital hygiene or privacy settings.
Law enforcement confirms these gangs often operate from outside India, making arrests difficult. But FIRs must still be filed. Section 66E and 67A of the IT Act can be used to pursue these crimes, especially when minors are involved. Citizens must be educated to watermark photos, keep social profiles private, and monitor how family data is shared online.
Never respond emotionally to such blackmail. Do not negotiate. Save all evidence and report immediately to cybercrime.gov.in or your local police station. Your silence is their weapon.
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The Akancha Srivastava Foundation is India’s leading social impact initiative dedicated to advancing cyber safety awareness and education. Established in February 2017, this not-for-profit Section 8 organization is a trusted voice in promoting safe online practices across the nation.
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