Romance scam: Man booked for sending lewd messages

Bengaluru, NT Bureau: The Bengaluru East Division Cyber Economics and Narcotics police booked a man for allegedly sending lewd messages to several people in the city. Based on a complaint filed by a woman resident, the police traced and picked up a man identified as Anand Sharma, who was allegedly operating from a PG in Sheshadripuram Police Station limits.

It is suspected that the youth had been using multiple SIM cards to send spam messages offering dating services to people. However, his scheme backfired when a few people including the woman approached the police and filed a complaint.

The police seized several mobile phones from the accused and have taken up further probe suspecting that the youth is a part of ‘Romance scam’.

A romance scam is when a criminal adopts a fake online identity to gain a victim's affection and trust and then uses the victim's personal details to blackmail them for money, the police said.