A Bengaluru police head constable has become the victim of an alleged sextortion attempt after accepting a Facebook friend request from an unknown account and later receiving AI-morphed obscene images created from his old photographs.
The officer, attached to Hebbal police station, told police that the person behind the account threatened to send the manipulated images and videos to senior officials and upload them on social media unless he paid money through a QR code.
Hebbal police have registered a case and are trying to identify the person operating the account.
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Friend request led to sexually explicit Messenger conversation
According to the complaint, the head constable received a Facebook friend request from an account named “Siya Gowda” on September 16.
He was on security duty during a Ganesha immersion procession at Cholanayakanahalli in Hebbal and was browsing Facebook around 9 pm when he accepted the request.
The account allegedly began sending sexually explicit messages through Messenger.
The constable responded in a similar manner, and the conversation continued for around 30 to 40 minutes, according to his complaint.
That exchange later became part of the alleged blackmail attempt.
Old Facebook photos allegedly used to create fake obscene content
The complainant told police that the person behind the account downloaded older photographs from his Facebook profile.
Those images were then allegedly used with AI tools to create morphed photographs and videos showing him in sexually explicit situations with women.
The accused subsequently sent the manipulated material back to him.
A QR code was also allegedly provided for payment, along with an assurance that the content would be deleted if he paid.
The constable did not report paying the alleged extortion demand.
Threats focused on career and reputation
The alleged blackmailer threatened to circulate the images among senior police officers and upload them publicly on social media.
That threat appears to have been designed around the victim’s professional reputation.
For a police employee, manipulated sexual content sent to colleagues or senior officers could create serious embarrassment even if the material is fake.
This is one reason AI-assisted sextortion can be effective without attackers obtaining any genuine intimate photograph.
A fraudster only needs enough publicly available images to create convincing-looking fabricated content.
Police suspect chat screenshots may also have been saved
A senior police officer told the Times of India that investigators suspect the accused may have taken screenshots of the sexually explicit messages exchanged during the conversation.
That would give the extortionist two different forms of leverage.
The manipulated images could be presented as fake visual evidence, while genuine screenshots of the conversation could be used to embarrass the victim or make the fabricated material appear more believable.
This combination can make sextortion particularly difficult for victims because the attacker mixes authentic communication with fake content.
Harassment continued for two days
The alleged harassment continued until September 18.
The constable eventually approached police and submitted copies of the messages and morphed photographs as evidence.
Hebbal police registered a case under Sections 66E and 67A of the Information Technology Act, along with Sections 308 and 351 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.
The provisions cited relate to privacy violations, sexually explicit electronic content, extortion and criminal intimidation.
Police said steps were also being taken to prevent the manipulated images and videos from being uploaded to social media.
AI changes the old sextortion model
Traditional sextortion scams often involved persuading victims to participate in video calls or send intimate photographs.
Fraudsters would record those interactions and then demand money.
Generative AI changes that requirement.
Attackers can now start with ordinary photographs taken from Facebook, Instagram or other social-media profiles and manipulate them into explicit-looking images.
That means a victim does not necessarily have to share an intimate image to become a target.
Public photographs may be enough.
The technology also lowers the cost of running such scams at scale because attackers can produce manipulated images quickly for many victims.
Public social-media photos can become raw material
The case shows why old photographs and publicly visible profile information now have greater security value than many users realise.
A fraudster can potentially collect a person’s face, employer, family connections, friends and workplace from a single social-media profile.
That information can then be used to personalise threats.
In this case, the threat was allegedly to circulate the content among senior police officers.
A corporate employee could similarly be threatened with circulation to managers or colleagues, while a student could be threatened with exposure to family members or classmates.
The technology changes, but the pressure tactic remains the same: create fear of reputational damage and demand immediate payment.
Police personnel are not immune to social engineering
The case is also notable because the victim works in a police station and reportedly helps handle social-media-related duties.
A senior officer criticised the constable’s decision to accept an unknown friend request and continue the explicit conversation.
That observation highlights a broader point.
Cyber fraud does not depend only on a victim lacking technical knowledge.
Social engineering works by exploiting curiosity, trust, embarrassment, urgency or emotion, and those pressures can affect almost anyone.
Earlier this month, Bengaluru Police separately uncovered a racket in which fraudsters created fake Facebook profiles using the names and photographs of senior IAS and IPS officers to solicit money from their contacts.
That was a different operation, but both cases show how Facebook identities are being weaponised for targeted fraud.
Investigation now turns to account operator and payment trail
Police will need to identify who created the “Siya Gowda” account and whether the same profile has targeted other users.
Investigators can examine Facebook account records, login information, linked phone numbers, devices and the payment details behind the QR code.
The QR code may be especially useful because it could point to a UPI ID or bank account used to collect extortion payments.
Police are also likely to examine whether the manipulated images were generated using a publicly available AI service or another image-editing tool.
The person behind the account has not yet been publicly identified, and the allegations remain under investigation.
What this means for you: A sextortion scam no longer requires you to send an intimate photograph. Public social-media images can be manipulated with AI, so keep profiles private where possible, avoid explicit chats with unknown accounts and never pay a blackmailer. Preserve screenshots and payment details and report the threat through 1930 and the cybercrime portal.
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