Suspect arrested for blackmailing men in guise of woman

The Cyber Crime Wing of the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) arrested a man accused of online harassment of men in guise of a woman.

The sleuths of the federal agency acting under code name Team Hyderabad conducted a raid in continuation of Operation Cyber Storm to track and haul away the suspect Shah Zeb from a neighbourhood in Hyderabad.

According to FIA Cyber Crime Additional Director Imran Riaz, the suspect, posing as a woman trapped men online.

Zeb used to befriend men by using a fake Facebook ID disguised as a young housewife.

Using fake ID of Faiza Parveen, the suspect first exchanged intimate messages to catch just the 'right type of man' to trap.

Read: Boy allegedly assaulted by blackmailer

He would then invite the victim on video calls as Faiza Parveen. While, Parveen would remain in hijab, 'she' would encourage 'her' target to show his body, asking to see more and more.

Once Zeb, acting as Parveen had recorded the video call with his target undressed, he would send them a copy with a 'blackmail notice' to send money.

The suspect would warn that he would tell the victims' families that they had 'immoral relations' with 'Parveen' and destroy their married life or career or both.

Zeb demanded money for deleting the videos and pictures of his victims in buff.

According to Imran Riaz, Facebook authorities also restricted his ID for uploading posts that violated community standards. The FIA officer said that technical analysis of the accused's electronic gadgets confirmed the presence of pornographic videos of eight people, including a child he was blackmailing.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 8^th, 2022.