Chinese, Indonesian police arrest 88 for nude-chat extortion

Eighty-eight suspects have been apprehended by Chinese and Indonesian police for suspected involvement in nude-chat extortion on Batam Island in Indonesia.

More than 80 computers, 200 mobile phones, and a large number of bank cards and other tools for committing telecom and Internet fraud crimes were seized, and 88 suspects were arrested in the joint operation launched by Chinese and Indonesian police on Batam Island on August 29.

Preliminary investigations link the gang to over 40 extortion cases across China, and further investigation is continuing. Chinese police will escort the 88 suspects back to China soon.

In recent years, the crime of nude chat extortion has become a serious and frequent type of new crime in the field of telecom and Internet fraud.

Fraudsters attract and divert their victims by posting erotic information on social platforms, live-streaming platforms, forums, and other channels to induce victims to add them as friends. They then send Trojan App download links to steal phone address books and other information.

They also hire women or play pornography videos to chat with their victim and encourage them to perform indecent acts, which they secretly record for the purpose of extorting money by threatening to release the indecent videos.

Many victims choose to pay money to the criminals due to their concern for their reputations and fear of exposure.

Some victims are repeatedly extorted, stripped of their belongings, and even borrow huge amounts of debt on online loan platforms. Some victims, unable to bear the immense psychological pressure, have committed suicide.