Sri Lanka, Aug. 10 -- An organised extortion racket of a large scale being carried out through social media and messaging platforms such as Facebook, Messenger, Instagram, and WhatsApp came to light through the Sri Lanka Computer Emergency Readiness Team (SLCERT).

The racket reportedly operates from India, with scammers targeting individuals after first adding their relatives and friends, including siblings, to their social media accounts to give the impression that the scammer is a mutual friend, SLCERT stated.

A message saying "Hi" goes out via Instagram from an account featuring the profile picture of an attractive young woman as the initial step of the scheme.

The scammers monitor those who respond and re-engage in conversation sev...