Lucknow: Basti police have busted an interstate cybercrime gang that allegedly gained access to victims’ mobile phone galleries and contact lists on the pretext of offering easy loans, morphed their photographs into obscene images and then blackmailed them.Four members of the gang, including a SIM card supplier, have been arrested, police said.The accused have been identified as Nikhil Singh, Gaurav Singh, Afroz and Pradyuman Chaurasia.Police said the gang had been operating across multiple states. So far, 12 complaints linked to the gang have been found on the National Cybercrime Reporting Portal (NCCRP).According to superintendent of police Yashveer Singh, the gang allegedly contacted people through WhatsApp and Telegram and sent them links promising easy loans. Once victims clicked on the links, the accused gained access to their mobile phone galleries and contact lists. They then used photo-editing applications to morph the victims’ photographs into obscene images.The accused subsequently contacted the victims and threatened to circulate the morphed photographs among their contacts if money was not paid.During interrogation, the accused reportedly claimed to have collected between Rs 12 lakh and Rs 15 lakh from the victims.Further investigation is underway to identify other members of the network, trace financial transactions and determine the full extent of the alleged cyber fraud.
