Bhubaneswar: An escort service racket was busted in Bhubaneswar and four persons, including a woman were held for fraudulently cheating people through a digital platform, police said.
The accused persons hailed from Khurda, Nayagarh and Cuttack districts and were operating in the city, police said.
The racket came to the fore during an investigation on the basis of a complaint lodged by a woman at Tamando police station.
The complainant said that her photographs, along with pictures of several other women, were being misused on social media and messaging platforms for promoting illegal escort services without their knowledge or consent.
She also alleged that unknown persons were operating a fraudulent escort service racket, collecting money from prospective customers through online payment platforms under various pretexts such as cab charges and advance booking fees.
Police said during the investigation, statements of the complainant and witnesses were recorded. Screenshots, chat records, mobile numbers, UPI transaction details and other digital evidence were collected and analysed.
Technical examination of mobile numbers, social media accounts and digital footprints revealed that a group of persons had created and operated social media profiles and communication channels for promoting illegal escort services, police said.
The investigation also revealed that the accused persons were found to have used photographs of innocent women without authorisation and circulated them electronically to attract customers. They induced customers to transfer money towards advance booking charges, cab charges and other expenses and subsequently cheated them.
Meanwhile, the police seized mobile phones used in the commission of the offence, SIM cards linked with the operation of the racket, screenshots and chat records relating to the offence, photographs of the complainant and other women misused on social media platforms.
The police also recovered the bank account details, UPI transaction records and other incriminating digital evidence.
In an advisory, police urged citizens not to respond to suspicious escort service advertisements circulated through social media or messaging platforms. Any such incidents of cyber fraud, impersonation, misuse of photographs or online cheating should be reported immediately to the nearest police station or cyber crime authorities, the police said.