Sextortion and Laws in India

What is SEXTORTION?

A form of sexual exploitation that employs non-physical forms of coercion by threatening to release sexual images or information to extort monetary or sexual favors from the victim.
Modus Operandi
1) The scammers persuade the dater to send sexually explicit photos. Once they get the photos, the scammers identify themselves as law enforcement, telling the dater they sent the pictures to a minor.
They then tell the person to pay up in order to avoid arrest.
The scammers are not only identifying themselves as law enforcement, they are also using actual names of officers.
“These people are being contacted by Detective Don Peterson and it isn’t me,” Peterson told the paper.
More than 100 people have paid between $500 to $1,500 to try to avoid arrest.
2) The groups is to create online accounts of females and post pictures of attractive ladies to draw clients. They would then post pornographic images and entice their victims to have video chats with them, usually with lewd content and conversation.
Once they obtain the incriminating videos, the groups would threaten to send the video chats to the victim's friends or relatives unless they send money.
The victims are allegedly forced to send $500 to $2,000 – or P20,000 to P90,000 – through Western Union in exchange for the removal of the online video chat.

How to prevent sextortion?
Talk about sextortion
Sextortion thrives on silence; spread knowledge. Talk to two people and ask them to spread the word to two more. Keep the chain going.
Spread the word
Without a name – SEXTORTION – it is difficult to lift an abuse out of the realm of bad things we know happen and passively accept as the way of the world, and into the realm of things we will no longer tolerate and actively seek to change.
Learn more about sextortion
Once you become aware of sextortion, you see how pervasive it is. Gather and share information about sextortion.

Laws in INDIA:
1) Section 66E of Information Technology Act,2000
Violation of Privacy - Whoever, intentionally or knowingly captures, publishes or transmits the image of a private area of any person without his or her consent, under circumstances violating the privacy of that person
2) Section 67 of Information Technology Act
Punishment for publishing or transmitting obscene material in electronic form
3) Section 67A of Information Technology Act
Punishment for publishing or transmitting of material containing sexually explicit act, etc. in electronic form
4) Section 67B of Information Technology Act
Punishment for Child Pornography in electronic form
Interpol investigation
5) Section 387 of Indian Penal Code,1860  for Extortion is also applicable

6) Section 506 of The IPC,1860 2nd Para is applicable if the extortionist is imputing the chastity of the girl. 

India case law for sextortion [ Bail Stayed]

The Supreme Court on 01/02/2016 stayed the anticipatory bail given to sextortion case accused M. Satyanandam, suspended APSPDCL, Divisional Engineer. Satyanandam, who was working as DE in electricity department was booked for active involvement in the gang that sexually exploited women and resorted to extortion. 

He was fourth accused in the case registered at Machavaram on December 11, 2015 following a complaint given by a woman to the commissioner of police.  

An INTERPOL-coordinated operation targeting organized crime networks behind ‘sextortion’ cases around the world has resulted in the arrest of 58 individuals, including three men linked to the group which harassed Scottish teenager Daniel Perry.
Perry, a 17-year-old victim of an online blackmail attempt, died after jumping off the Forth Road Bridge near Edinburgh in July last year.

In the first operation of its kind, information shared between the INTERPOL Digital Crime Centre (IDCC), Hong Kong Police Force, Singapore Police Force and the Philippines National Police (PNP) Anti-Cybercrime Group led to the identification of between 190 and 195 individuals working for organized crime groups operating out of the Philippines.