Blackmailed after a video call? Don’t pay, and it’s not your fault
Short answer
Do not pay, and do not blame yourself. This is an organised extortion racket: the call is set up to record a few seconds, or your public photos are faked, and paying almost always brings a bigger demand. Stop replying, save the messages, numbers and payment details, then block. Report it on 1930 or cybercrime.gov.in. If anything is posted, the platform must take it down when you report it, and free tools can stop it being uploaded again.
Checked
· sources linked under each scam
The Scam Radar card below is Aegix’s live alert for this scam; its own source is a news report. The official guidance — from the Ministry of Electronics and IT and CERT-In — is linked under the sections after it. If you feel overwhelmed, tell one person you trust, or call Tele MANAS on 14416, the Government’s free 24x7 mental-health helpline. If you are in danger, call 112.
A video call comes in from a number you do not know, a naked woman appears, and the call is recorded. The callers then demand money to stop a video "with your face on it" being sent to your family or put online, and every payment is followed by a new demand.
⚙️ How it works
The few seconds before you cut the call are recorded - or your public social-media photos are morphed into obscene images - so they never needed anything real from you. A second caller then poses as a cyber-crime officer and says the offence carries a seven-year jail term, and a third poses as a video platform and charges a "takedown fee". The same trap also starts as a friend request from a woman's profile that moves to chat and then to a request to undress on camera. A 26-year-old in Ahmedabad paid Rs 49.7 lakh across many transfers; a 70-year-old in Hyderabad paid about Rs 38 lakh after being threatened with a false charge involving a minor.
🚩 Red flags
A video call from an unknown number where a naked person appears straight away
A caller saying he is from a police or cyber-crime branch about an "obscene video case" and quoting a jail term
Anyone offering, for a fee, to "delete" or "take down" a video from a platform
A new online friend who turns the chat sexual within days, or asks you to undress on camera
A demand paid by UPI or a QR code, with the instruction to tell nobody in your family
✅ What to do
Cut the call, say nothing, block the number and do not call back.
Pay nothing. The first payment always brings another demand - paying is what keeps it going.
Screenshot the demands, the numbers and the payment details before you block them.
Tell one person you trust straight away, and report it on cybercrime.gov.in or by calling 1930 - the whole threat depends on your silence.
Lock down your social-media photo albums: morphed pictures are made from photos that are public. Real police never demand money on a call and never settle a case by UPI.
You are the victim of a crime, not the one in trouble
These rackets target many people at once. A video call from an unknown number is answered, a few seconds are recorded, or ordinary photos from a public profile are edited. CERT-In’s awareness booklet describes how morphed pictures made from photos posted online are used to blackmail victims. The threat works only while you stay silent and keep paying. The follow-up calls from a “cyber-crime officer” or a “video platform” asking for a fee are part of the same racket: real police do not settle a case over the phone for money. Reporting it is the step that stops it.
✅ What to do
Stop replying. Do not pay, negotiate or send anything more, whatever deadline they set.
Before you block, save screenshots of the profile, phone numbers, chats, the demands and any UPI IDs or payment receipts.
If a video or photo is posted or sent: getting it taken down
The Ministry of Electronics and IT (MeitY) published a step-by-step procedure for victims in November 2025, written on a High Court’s direction under India’s IT Rules, 2021. It covers intimate images and artificially morphed images. You, or someone on your behalf, can report the content on the platform itself (its report button or grievance officer) or through the National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal at cybercrime.gov.in or 1930. Women can also go to a One Stop Centre for help with the complaint and counselling. Under the procedure, the platform must remove the content within 24 hours of your report and confirm it to you, large social-media platforms must find and remove copies, and search engines must drop it from results. If the platform does not respond, you can appeal to the Grievance Appellate Committee.
✅ What to do
Report the post or account on the platform, and also through the National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal’s social-media reporting link.
Adults: StopNCII.org makes a digital fingerprint (hash) of the image on your own phone; the image itself is not uploaded. Partners including Facebook, Instagram, Threads, TikTok, Reddit, Snap and X use the fingerprint to find and remove matching uploads. It is free and is run by a UK charity, not the Government.
If the person in the image was under 18 when it was taken: Take It Down, a free service of the US National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, works the same way with platforms including Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, Snap and TikTok. For a child, report on cybercrime.gov.in too.
Already paid, shared a code or your screen? Call your bank on the number printed on your card and block the card.
Then call 1930, India’s national cyber-fraud helpline, and report it on
cybercrime.gov.in the same day.
Questions people ask about this message
Should I pay so they delete the video?
No. Paying does not get anything deleted; it shows them you will pay, and the demands usually grow. Stop replying, save the evidence, block them and report it on 1930 or cybercrime.gov.in.
Is it my fault for answering the call?
No. Answering a call is not a crime. The people recording, faking and threatening you are committing the crime. These rackets target many people at once; reporting them is how they are traced.
They made a fake video with my face. Can I still report it?
Yes. India’s IT Rules and MeitY’s procedure for victims cover artificially morphed images as well as real ones. Report it on the platform and on cybercrime.gov.in or 1930.
Someone claiming to be a cyber-crime officer says I will be arrested unless I pay. Is that real?
No. That call is part of the same racket. Police do not settle a case over the phone for money or by UPI. Do not pay; report the number on 1930 or cybercrime.gov.in.
How do I get the video or photos taken down?
Report it on the platform and through cybercrime.gov.in. Under MeitY’s procedure the platform must remove it within 24 hours of your report. Adults can also use StopNCII.org; for images taken under 18, use Take It Down. Both make a fingerprint of the image on your phone without uploading it.
Let the phone warn you next time
Aegix is an Android security app from CryoSim, free to install, no account. Its Scam Radar lists the scams spreading in India,
filtered to your state; Scam Checker reads any message or link you paste in; and scam-SMS warnings (Aegix Premium, first month
free for new users) flag a scam-looking SMS as it arrives. Aegix flags the message; it does not delete it.
