A look on my experience...

Some days ago, I received a message on my WhatsApp from an unknown number. The message was "Can we talk for a moment " As I am a writer so I thought that the message was about any anthology so I replied "About any anthology" Then he ignored my reply and offered me an online part-time job in which he told me that "you have to like some youtube videos and I will pay 50rs per video " firstly I ignored then he gently told everything about that Business and benefits. overall he showed that it's a real business and made me believe in that business.

Based on the trial, he send me three youtube videos. I like them and send him screenshots then he gave me a code and a Telegram account I'd and said me to send that code to Telegram I'd and they would pay for it. Then I send that code by telegram and telegram a girl replied to me that for this payment I have to give some information like my bank account name, account number, and Ifsc code. I thought that it was real and gave her all the details and after some time I received a payment of 150 rs. I felt happy and believed that business.

 She also added me to a group on Telegram in which they continuously send screenshots of payments. The next day I did the same task to like that videos and send them screenshots and at night I received 375rs. After that day I again did the same task but in the afternoon she told me that they canceled me because I did not do any merchant task. I asked her about that task and she told me that it's a beneficial task you have to pay 1000rs and after some time you will receive 1480rs with profit but it was hard to trust her still I took a risk and asked how to do this task .she gave me a UPI I'd for payment and I paid 1000rs for that task and send them screenshot than they gave me another telegram account and said to send a screenshot on that account.

I did the same thing and send a screenshot the person’s from the account replied to me and send a website link to me and said to open that after opening that link I saw that the money was increasing from 1000 to 1300 rs than I asked for payment then they told that you had to select the amount of second task than I will pay for it but I had no money I requested them to return my 1000rs also but they ignored after made a call to him so many times they replied that you have to give your selfie to identify than I will apply for your refund I asked why you need selfie then he replied I will refund after your identity then I send them my selfie and they replied to me "get ready to see your nude pic" it was shocking. 

I deleted that picture at the moment and then they used abusive words for me I also replied to the same company but it was the honey trapping. They started blackmailing me and also called whore and said that they will post my nude pic and Gave me some abusive tags also. 

I blocked them and their all accounts which he gave to me. After that, my friend made a complaint including screenshots also on an online portal.

It was a very bad experience for me even though I can't trust anyone after that incident

Introducing Honey Traping!

Honey trapping is an investigative practice involving the use of romantic or sexual relationships for interpersonal, political (including state espionage), or monetary purposes. The honey pot or trap involves making contact with an individual who has information or resources required by a group or individual; the trapper will then seek to entice the target into a false relationship (which may or may not include actual physical involvement) which they can glean information or influence over the target.

The term "honey trap" is also used when dating sites are used to gain access to a victim.

Private investigators are often employed to create a honey pot by wives, husbands, and other partners usually when an illicit romantic affair is suspected of being the "target", or subject of the investigation. Occasionally, the term may be used for the practice of creating an affair to take incriminating photos for use in blackmail. A honey trap is used primarily to collect evidence on the subject of the honey trap. Honey trapping is used in getting a new user addicted to illegal drugs and also for drug smuggling.

In my view, There are too many cases that increase every day. As in my society, almost 70 % of people are trapped in this honey trapping and this Situation lost the trust between people.

We can't blame only unawareness but it is also blamed on the person who is involved in it and have no moral values. They are ready to do anything for money. Sometimes it is because of the lack of education poor people usually do this kind of crime but in the case of cybercrime, they are the people who misuse their education and technology also by online blackmailing people.

In the present situation, every day more than lakhs of cases of cybercrime from the world are shown by news channels and so many cases are out of our knowledge because criminals blackmail people and it is hard for them to register a complaint against them.

In historical cases...

After searching history, I got that honey trapping has a long history of use in Espionage.

How ??

As per data included on Google..it is shown that

During the Cold War, female agents called "Mozhno girls" or "Mozhnos" were used by the KGB (Committee for State Security) of the USSR ( Union of Soviet Socialist Republics) to spy on foreign officials by seducing them. The name Mozhno comes from the Russian word "mozhno" (Russian: можно), meaning "it is permitted", as these agents were allowed to breach regulations restricting Russian contact with foreigners.

In 2009, the British MI5 distributed a 14-page document to hundreds of British banks, businesses, and financial institutions, titled "The Threat from Chinese Espionage". It described a wide-ranging Chinese effort to blackmail Western business people over sexual relationships. The document explicitly warns that Chinese intelligence services are trying to cultivate "long-term relationships" and have been known to "exploit vulnerabilities such as sexual relationships ... to pressurize individuals to co-operate with them.

Statics of honey trapping in India

Shining the Light on the Great Indian Honey Trap:  

In this edition of The Interview, documentary filmmaker, Deepika Narayan Bhardwaj talks about some women using the laws designed to protect them from sexual abuse to harass and blackmail men. She calls for reforms that protect men against such misuse.

The term “honey trap” was popularized by John le Carré in his 1974 novel, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy. During the Cold War, intelligence agencies regularly deployed women to ensnare senior military officers, politicians, and businessmen. They would then blackmail them into giving away valuable secrets. The femmes fatales employed by these agencies had to be seductive and sophisticated enough to draw valuable information out of powerful men, usually after establishing a romantic relationship with them. 

The Cold War may be a thing of the past, but the practice of using romance and sex as tools of extortion and blackmail is still flourishing worldwide. The #MeToo movement that started as a chorus of feminist indignation mobilizing long-suppressed grievances has also been frequently deployed as a weapon to bludgeon men into silence or, worse, milk them for all they are worth. 

In India, Deepika Narayan Bhardwaj, a journalist and documentary filmmaker, has been hot on the trail of duplicitous women. Some of them work in groups, regularly blackmailing gullible males into parting with large sums of money after sleeping with them. Their victims are usually married and hold a respectable place in society, making them easy targets for extortion.

Bhardwaj is known for speaking out against the rampant misuse of India’s gender laws, especially section 376 of the 1860-vintage Indian Penal Code (IPC) that addresses rape and sexual violence. Sections 489A and 354 deal with domestic abuse and sexual harassment respectively. The journalist observes, “Increasingly, men in India are becoming victims of systematic abuse through gender-biased laws. Laws where their innocence doesn’t matter, where they are presumed guilty, and where a mere verbal accusation by a woman makes them a puppet in the hands of police and judiciary for years to come.”

Indeed, the data on gender-based violence gathered by India’s National Crime Records Bureau is very revealing. Of the 120,306 total arrests under section 498A in the year 2020, 96,497 were men and a whopping 23,809 of the arrested were women. There are increasing reports of women who, after a few years of marriage, file false cases of domestic abuse in the hopes of winning large settlements. Subsequently, the family is summoned and forced to settle the case by paying large amounts of money. Up to 75% of cases are withdrawn because it emerges that the purported victims are exploiting the law. This can only compromise the credibility of genuine survivors of abuse and domestic violence.

Senior DRDO official held in suspected honey trap case with Pakistan links

The Maharashtra State Anti Terrorism Squad (ATS) has arrested a senior Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) official in Pune, for allegedly indulging in “wrongful communication” with Pakistan-based intelligence operatives in a suspected case of honey trap.

The official has worked on several strategically significant projects of the DRDO including several missiles. He has been booked under Official Secrets Act.

A senior ATS officer told The Indian Express that the investigation was launched following a complaint received in this regard from the DRDO. “He was placed under arrest on Wednesday and was produced before a court in Pune on Thursday, where his custody was secured by the ATS. The DRDO had approached with the preliminary information,” said the officer.

“This primarily seems to be a case of honeytrap in which the senior scientist has come into contact with Pakistan-based intelligence operatives after he was trapped using photos of women on social media platforms. He was in contact with the Pakistan-based operatives through voice messages and video calls from September-October last year and is suspected to have shared some sensitive information with the operatives,” the officer said.

How Indian police dealing with this honey trap case??

• Honeytrap Gang Busted In Delhi: Delhi Police had a breakthrough as they busted an extortion racket and arrested four members of a gang, including a woman, who allegedly honey-trapped people by introducing herself as a masseuse. The accused have been identified as Sunny Suneja, Md. Shafiq, Deepak Budhiraja, and Hemlata. all the accused were booked under sections 389, 419, 170, 120 B and 34 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) based on a complaint filed by Nand Kishor resident of Balbir Nagar Shahdara, Shahdara Deputy Commissioner of Police Rohit Meena said.

Be aware of it...

Brief Guide To Understand The Importance of Cyber Laws in India

Cyber law in India deals with the legal issues related to using the Internet, cyberspace, and related technology. It is a new and evolving area of law, and there is still much uncertainty about how various legal principles will be applied to the new and constantly changing technology. In general, however, cyber law in India covers a wide range of legal topics, including intellectual property, privacy, and freedom of speech, along with cyber-bullying, identity theft, harassment, and phishing.

Cyber cell divisions of the police and other administrative branches have already been set up all across the country and it is expected that in the coming days, India will have an even more safer position in cyberspace.

Overview of Cyber Law In India

Cyberlaw responds to the unique challenges of the Internet and other digital technologies. These technologies have created new opportunities for criminals, cyber bullies, and others who would exploit the technology for their purposes. At the same time, they have also created new ways for people to share information and ideas and connect. Cyber laws exist to protect people from online fraud. They exist to prevent online crimes that include credit card theft and identity theft. A person who commits such thefts stands to face federal and state criminal charges.

Cyber law is a term used to describe the legal aspects of using technology, particularly the Internet. It covers various topics, from copyright and trademark law to data protection and privacy. These laws govern how information is collected, used, and stored. They are designed to protect people’s privacy and prevent the misuse of personal information. Other important cyber laws include those that deal with copyright and trademark law.

These laws protect the intellectual property rights of creators and owners of copyrighted material. They are designed to prevent others from using or copying material without permission. Still, other cyber laws govern the use of electronic commerce or e-commerce. These laws govern the transactions that take place online, such as the purchase of goods and services. They protect consumers and businesses from fraud and other illegal activities. 

Summing up

Now we can easily consider how is honey trap impacts India. It is increasing day by day. It's cases are not normal. Look like real but it's a trap so we should be aware of this .overall statics of India show how it's impacted on a national level as per the DRDO case we talk about in this article. After knowing about this it is important to be aware of all these cases and also spread awareness among our family and friends. 

If you have been trapped in any kind of case, you need to inform the local police and report it as soon as possible. if you are trapped in any cyber case then there are online portals also to report. It's very important to have basic knowledge in our younger children also that we should not give anyone such kind of Information like bank account details, any tops and passwords and without knowledge do not invest on any online portal.

Crime is basically by a lot of situations like murder, blackmail, stealing, and rape but the honey trap is like an excellent crime by blackmailing anyone and Rob them silently. so our society needs to know, how to deal with it.

Have a good day!

Thank you.

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References: 

• https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Honey_trapping
• https://khatabook.com/blog/article
  
• https://indianexpress.com/article/cities
  
• https://m.timesofindia.com/city/delhi