NEW DELHI: A 30-year-old man was arrested for allegedly blackmailing women through social media platforms using AI-morphed images, police said on Monday. The accused had previously been involved in two extortion cases.
According to police, a 19-year-old complainant approached them after receiving WhatsApp messages from an unknown person who sent her a morphed image.
The accused allegedly asked her to create a separate social media account for communication and demanded Rs 30,000 for deleting the manipulated photograph while using a profile under the name ‘Lakshay Garg’. Under distress, the victim’s family transferred the money through a QR-code-based payment, police said.
Several months later, in February, the accused allegedly contacted the complainant again and demanded more money. After negotiations, the victim transferred another Rs 10,000 through a cyber cafe.
Police said the accused continued threatening the woman and pressured her to provide contact details of other young women. When she refused, he allegedly intensified the threats, prompting her to approach the police.
During investigation, police collected evidence. The social media account used in the crime was linked to an email account belonging to the accused, identified as Sourav. He was traced and arrested from Bhalswa Dairy on Thursday, DCP (North) Raja Banthia said.