A high-profile extortion case has emerged in Pune’s Koregaon Park area, where a 37-year-old aviation businessman has reported receiving death threats and a demand for ₹5 crore from a phone number traced to Pakistan. The threats, delivered through WhatsApp calls and voice notes, have raised concerns about cross-border cybercrime and the use of spoofing technologies.
The businessman, who owns a private aviation firm dealing in helicopters and aircraft, first received a threatening voice note on February 25 via WhatsApp. The caller claimed knowledge of his plans to acquire a new helicopter and demanded ₹5 crore as "protection money," warning of serious consequences if the demand was not met. Subsequent messages on February 28 and March 16 escalated the threats, with statements like, “We know your history and geography. If you don’t pay, we will kill you.”
A complaint was filed at the Koregaon Park Police Station under sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and Information Technology Act related to extortion and criminal intimidation. Pune Police’s Cyber Cell and Crime Branch are jointly investigating the case. Initial findings suggest that proxy servers or spoofed IP addresses were used to conceal the sender’s identity.
Authorities have provided round-the-clock armed security for the complainant while efforts are underway to trace the source of the messages.
Investigators believe that India-based suspects may have used caller ID spoofing to disguise their identity as being from Pakistan. This technique involves masking the real phone number with another to mislead recipients. The international nature of the threats has heightened their severity, prompting an urgent response from law enforcement agencies. Such incidents highlight vulnerabilities faced by high-profile business owners and underline the need for robust cybersecurity measures.
The extortion attempt targeting a prominent businessman has brought attention to the growing menace of cross-border cybercrime and intimidation tactics. Pune Police intensify their investigation, this case serves as a reminder for businesses to remain vigilant against such threats and adopt advanced security measures.
