Representative image for an arrest.
Credit: iStock Photo
Hyderabad: Hyderabad's cyber crime police station's detective department has arrested a 26 year old sextortion fraudster from Bengaluru who posed as a woman on dating sites and lured men. He targeted victims abroad.
The accused, identified as Riddh Bedi, 26, a resident of Brookefield, Bengaluru, was apprehended by the police for his involvement in a well-organized fraud scheme using dating websites to lure victims into compromising situations and extort money.
Cyber crimes cops received a complaint a few days ago that his son residing in California, USA was blackmailed and extorted for a total amount of $1,721 by the Ridh. He posed as a woman on a dating platform and lured the victim into sharing personal information and sensitive images. Using this information, Ridh threatened to expose the victim to his social circle unless a ransom was paid.
The victim made several transactions to an Indian mobile number linked to bank accounts in HDFC, Kotak, and RBL banks. After the victim stopped responding, the accused escalated the threats by sending obscene messages to the victim’s family and workplace, further traumatizing the victim.
The accused, Riddh Bedi, a former product designer, turned to online scams after losing his job, in order to support his lavish lifestyle. He created fake profiles on dating websites like Seeking.com, using stolen images of women to lure unsuspecting victims into sending sensitive photos. Once he obtained these images, he blackmailed the victims, threatening to release the compromising content unless they paid large sums of money, said cyber crimes DCP, Dara Kavitha.
To facilitate the transfer of these funds from the US to India, Bedi instructed the victims to use online payment platforms, including Zelle, which is commonly used in the US for transferring funds quickly and easily. The money was later routed to his Indian bank accounts, including those in HDFC, Kotak, and RBL banks.
To avoid detection, the accused used multiple phone numbers, email addresses, and social media platforms, taking careful steps to cover his tracks.
A team from the Cyber Crimes Police led by Inspector P Pramod Kumar and SI Venkatadri with their team proceeded to Bengaluru and coordinated with Whitefield Police Station to apprehend the accused. Upon interrogation, the accused admitted his involvement in the crime. He has been remanded to judicial custody. The police seized incriminating materials, including, 32 GB RAM, Intel Core i9, 2.40Hz, 64 bit, 1 TB hardisk, high configuration CPU, GIGABYTE TRX40 AORUS Master AMD Motherboard.
Riddh Bedi studied Mechanical Engineering in California, USA, where he stayed for six years. He was addicted to action role-playing games (RPGs) and battle royale games.
He resides alone at Ashima Villa, one of lavish villas and located in prime area in Bengaluru, where he pays rent of approximately Rs 75,000 per month, said the DCP.
He uses high-speed internet with speeds of 1,000 Mbps to ensure uninterrupted connection while chatting with victims. This kind of bandwidth is often favored by tech-based businesses that require fast data transfer and stable connections to support multiple users and devices simultaneously.
His daily routine differs from standard Indian timings. He typically sleeps during the day and works at night, specifically targeting US citizens.