Last updated on October 18, 2024
Names and places mentioned herein are hypothetical.
In a busy town in Kuwait, there was a lady named Anula. She worked as a domestic worker for a rich family. Anula was kind and worked hard. She wanted a better life for herself and her husband, Sanjaya.
One day, Anula’s phone broke. The driver of the house, named Vikram, said he could take it for repair. Anula trusted him and gave him her phone.
But Vikram was not nice; he broke the trust that Anula had with him. He checked the Gallery on her phone. He found some pictures and changed them to make them look bad. Then he slowly began to blackmail Anula. He asked her for money and said he would send the bad edited pictures to her husband.
Anula was very scared. She felt trapped and ashamed. Vikram kept messaging her and wanted more real pictures of her and also requested video calls. Panicked Anula agreed to all his demands. He recorded their video calls, without Anula knowing. Now Vikram was blackmailing Anula with real pictures and video recordings.
Vikram: I’m going to send all these pictures to your husband. Just wait and see.
Anula: Please don’t do this. Don’t ruin my family life.
Anula didn’t know what to do. She loved Sanjaya and didn’t want him to see what Vikram was threatening to send. She felt alone.
Vikram, with no compassion, Whatsapped all the videos and pictures to Anula’s husband. This put Anula in serious trouble. Her husband started accusing her and pressured her every day. At the same time, Vikram was also threatening her, and she felt overwhelmed. Anula gradually became very depressed.
The only person who could help her was her cousin living in Sri Lanka. He was worried that Anula might consider suicide if things continued this way. So, he worked hard to help her escape to Sri Lanka and hid her in a distant hospital. Meanwhile, her husband was searching for her, intent on harming her.
During this time, Anula’s cousin contacted Hithawathi and shared her story. Hithawathi listened carefully and advised him to guide Anula to Special Mental Health Hotline (1926) if she felt emotionally low after leaving the hospital. Hithawathi also suggested reporting Vikram’s number on WhatsApp and keeping all screenshots of the blackmail messages. Finally, Hithawathi recommended reaching out to the Computer Crime Investigation Division (CCID) for legal help.
Anula’s cousin thanked Hithawathi for the timely advice.
Precaution tips:
- Don’t give your phone to anyone, as its contents might be misused.
- Always choose a trusted place to repair your phone and try to choose official retailers for your phone model.
- Secure all evidence related to the blackmail.
- Rely on your support network.
- If blackmailers approach you via a social media platform, report and block their profiles.
- Contact 1926 (Special Mental Health Hotline) when you feel down due to these types of incidents.
- Cybercriminal complaints that are clearly mentioned with relevant evidence (correct links, screenshots, etc.) can be handed over to the CID, or sent to “The Director, Criminal Investigation Department, Colombo 01” by registered post. Additionally, you have the option of emailing the same via dir.ccid@police.gov.lk / report@cid.police.gov.lk