Tech grad turns cyber fraud, threatens woman with photos after deceiving her into relationship

A 29-year-old man who developed a relationship with a young woman in Chennai over the phone and later threatened to part with cash not to share her private photos and videos has been arrested in Theni.

"The accused, M Manoj Kumar of Kanniservaipatti village, a BTech graduate preparing for TNPSC exams, hid his personal details from the victim and created a pseudo-identity in the name of Raj and shared photos of a handsome-looking man downloaded from online to make her fall for him," said police. 

Police said that Manoj has just started this trick to make a quick buck and the complainant is suspected to be his first and the last victim. Explaining his modus operandi, the investigation officer said, "Manoj Kumar makes random phone calls and zeroes in on phone numbers, which the Truecaller App shows as a woman. He then tries to launch a conversation with them over the phone. To this victim, he told that she follows her for over seven years and that he works for a private bank," said the officer. 

The victim from Madurai district, who works and stays in the city, fell prey to his tricks and started talking to her, and shared photos and videos of herself as he pleased. 

A few weeks later, Manoj Kumar asked her if he can use her Gmail temporarily claiming that there was some technical glitch in using his account and stole all the contact numbers of her friends and relatives. "Then he told her that he lost his job and had to pay Rs 50,000 to get the job back. The naive victim too felt bad for her boyfriend and sent Rs 20,000 to an account number shared by Manoj Kumar claiming that it was his friend's. Indeed, it was his own account, but he told the victim that Manoj Kumar is a friend. However, his tone changed and he started threatening her to send the remaining Rs 20,000 or he would share her private photos with her family and friends. 

Shocked over this, the victim approached Anna Nagar all-women police and a case was registered. As Manoj Kumar threatened her from different phone numbers, police went in search of his friend, whose account number he had shared. Only after the arrest, police came to know that the account holder is the accused they were looking for as there was none in the name of Raj. 

Manoj Kumar was booked for extortion and under Information Technology Act and remanded in judicial custody.