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A retired senior BHEL official in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, was duped by a honeypot gang who extorted a huge sum of money from him. The gang lured the officer on the pretext of meeting a Russian woman. While he was staying at the hotel, they recorded 27 compromising videos involving the officer and the woman, which were later used to blackmail him.
After threatening to release the video, the officer paid over Rs 1 crore to the fraudsters. The gang initially invited him to the hotel where the video was shot and then began blackmailing him based on the recordings. One member of the gang impersonated a Crime Branch officer and further extorted money by threatening his arrest.
Frustrated by the continued threats, the officer lodged a complaint with the police. Authorities quickly launched an investigation and are actively searching for suspects, including a Russian woman involved in the scheme.
Honeypot incidents occur frequently in different parts of the country. The scheme involves a gang that traps individuals and extorts them by leaking images or videos. Even though many similar cases have come to light, people still fall victim to these scams.
