Online audio-video nude service scams refer to a category of cyber crimes that often cheat individuals through video calling apps, dating platforms, social media messengers and adult websites through fake proposals of online sexual audio or video services. These scams are deliberately created by criminals to withdraw money, personal data or to cause mental harm to unknown persons. Since the widely adopted of smartphones and video-cooling features in the last decade, such scams have increased manifold worldwide, especially in countries such as India, United States, Nigeria and parts of Europe.
The rise of adult webcam sites around 2009 laid the foundation of future scams. Initially, legitimate sites offered paid live video services from adult artists. However, parallel to their development, scammers began to mimic adult artists using stolen photos or already recorded videos.
The victims were implicated in private chats and later were asked for money for access or blackmailed through fake screen recording. This year, a round of dialogue-based fraud has started with traditional email-based scams.
By 2011, with the popularity of dating apps like Facebook, Skype and Badoo and Tagged, Scammers began to target people through flirting messages and friend requests. After gaining confidence, the scammers offered “private audio-video sex sessions”. After the video calls started, they recorded the session (or pretending like that) and threatened to share it with the family or post it online if not paid. This era saw a rapid growth in cases of “sextort” due to easily available camera technology and weak privacy settings of early social platforms.
In 2013, scammers began creating websites that looked like a valid escort service platform. On these sites, pictures of models (often stolen from the Internet) were shown and the phone numbers of “agents” were given, claiming to provide video calls or personal services. When a person contacted that number, scammers demanded advance payment through digital wallet, bank transfer or prepaid gift card. After payment, the victim did not get anything in return. This method became very popular in metropolitan areas like Delhi, Mumbai and London.
By 2015, sexuality cases reached a worrying level. Scammers began using screen recording apps to make objectionable videos of victims during fake sex calls on WhatsApp, Skype or Facebook Messenger. The victims were usually wooed through a profile of attractive women, who claimed to be alone and interested in “funny chat”. After the video conversation, the scammer would pretend to be a member of the “sexual crime prevention cell” and threaten legal action for not paying bribe or compromise fee. In India alone, more than 500 cases were registered in cities like Jaipur and Ahmedabad by the end of the year.
In 2016, the online audio-video sex scam took a new twist, where the scamsters used already recorded adult videos and assured the victims that they were on live calls. The victims were convinced that they were interacting with a real person, while in fact they were watching a video of unilateral loops. The victims often exposed themselves, assuming that the conversation is real. After this, blackmail and money were demanded. This trick increased the number of successful scams among young users.
Deepfek technology began to draw attention in 2018. Initially despite being used in entertainment and media, scammers also started using deepfeek technology in audio-video sex scams. He used the AI-birthted voice message or fake video, copying famous celebrities or real acquaintances. This made the conversation more reliable and made it easier to implicate the victims. A remarkable example was the use of Deepfac Celebrity Clip in fake adult video calls, making the victims record the video and sent money that they were interacting with a real person.
By 2019, Telegram and WhatsApp became the center of online audio-video sex scams. Scams started working in groups called “premium call services”, “college girls fun” or “aunt video chat”. The victims were offered special access to “live adult video call services” at prices ranging from ₹ 500 to ₹ 5000. After paying, no calls were made, or the victim got an empty screen and was blocked. In India, more than 5,000 complaints were filed on cyber crime portals that year in cities like Hyderabad, Kolkata and Bengaluru.
In 2020, the Kovid-19 epidemic and the resulting lockdown led to a significant increase in these scams due to increase in online activities, loneliness and isolation. Cyber criminals took advantage of the situation by aggressively targeting individuals with proposals for “online video consistency” or “Quarantine Entertainment”. Social and emotionally weak victims often became its victims. India’s National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal filed more than 20,000 complaints related to fake audio-video sex services during the first six months of the lockdown.
By 2021, the scammers refined their strategies to target married men, business officers and working professionals. He often used fake profiles of educated and sophisticated looking women. Once the trust was established, they started a video call, encouraged the victim to take off clothes and record the screen of the call. A few minutes later, a new person (pretending to be a police officer) contacted the victim and threatened to register a case under cyber pornography laws for not paying a fine or bribe. In India, police departments of Uttar Pradesh and Maharashtra issued public warnings as more than 10,000 such cases were reported.
In 2022, the scammers upgraded their methods. In addition to demanding payment, they used to send fake UPI or banking links. The victims who clicked these links and recorded their information were sent to the fishing sites, which threatened the entire security of the bank account. The victims not only lost the amount of blackmail, but often their entire bank balance was also emptied. Some people were also stolen as scammers used photographs taken from their base, PAN and phone through spyware links.
In 2023, Scammers began using AI Chatbot to start a tampering conversation with thousands of people simultaneously. These bots were integrated into the adult chat platform and gave the victims a chance to make chat or video calls with “real model”. The next phase included a fake video interaction using 3D models already recorded or AI-birthted faces. The victims who felt that they were in real calls often paid for “premium experience” or recorded and blackmailed. A new word was coined due to the refined technique of these bots: “AI Honeytrap”.
In 2024, reports showed that online audio-video sex scams are no longer limited to urban adults. Rural youth and students were fast becoming victims. The scamsters were localizing their language, serving through regional language websites, and using cultural references to create confidence. Huntings were often school or college students, who were wooed through YouTube shorts promoting “live video sex” through Instagram reels or WhatsApp. After being trapped in the trap, he faced harassment, threats and social insults. In states like Bihar, Jharkhand and Rajasthan, local cyber cells registered an increase of 300% in such cases.
By 2025, these scams are divided into the following main categories:
1. Advance Payment fraud: Victims are asked to pay advance for “private video calls” or “escort services”. After paying, the scamster disappears.
2. Sex -shaping through screen recording: Victims are lured to reveal their identity during fake or tampered calls and then blackmailed.
3. Fake Police Immunization: A collar pretends to be from a cybercrime cell and demands money to avoid arrest or FIR.
4. Malware and spyware links: Links of a “free sample video call app” are sent to the victims, which installs spyware and captures personal data.
5. Group Harassment Scam: Scammers victims add to Telegram or WhatsApp group where their video clips are shared and are embarrassed to make pressure for payment.
6. Deepfac forcibly recovery: The material prepared by artificial intelligence (AI) is made using pictures of the victim, in which porn videos are made fake, and then forced recovery.
7. Fake website portal: These include high-level adult service platforms that collect payment information under the guise of “premium access”, only to cheat the user.
In the last 15 years, there has been a huge change in the world of online audio-video nude service scams. Initially there was only a fraud based on molestation, it has now turned into a complex trap of psychological manipulation, financial theft, technical abuse and personal blackmail. Millions of people, especially men between 18 and 45 years of age, have fallen victim to these scams.
By 2025, cyber crime units around the world are recommending more public awareness, cyber hygiene education and strict digital laws to deal with this problem. Although the growing use of AI and Deepfac suggests that online audio-video sex scams will continue to change, making people alert, informed and vigilant even more important in their digital interactions for individuals.
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