Once upon a time, marriages were made in heaven. In 2023, most marriages and alliances are made through matrimonial apps. Similarly, there are unique apps which allow you to find a date partner whether you intend to marry him/her or not – basically these apps are your matchmakers for blind dates!
Welcome to the world of Tinder & Bumble which allows young and not so young individuals to acquaint and meet up with like minded individuals that suit one’s interest. Such platforms have multiple options to choose from such as dating, BFFs or just finding platonic partners. Needless to say one must be 18-years of age to have their profiles up on these apps.
Dating App Scams
In recent times, numerous scams have been reported directly by victims, who have been conned by both women and men. The most common scams happen when men are directly invited to hotel rooms for consensual meet ups and then blackmailed for money by threatening rape charges.
These scams are aided by professionally run gangs that record your moments without your knowledge only to trap you later. In some cases, fake police officers also turn up pressuring you to pay up or face jail.
While the above situations are very common, another type of dating app scam that has recently emerged, shreds light on the involvement of pubs, bars and lounges as well.
We are listing below some of the examples of such frauds shared by victims themselves.
Case 1:
In Aug this year, a woman reportedly looted a man near Huda Metro Station in Gurugram after the two decided to meet for a drinking date. The victim had shared his ordeal on the Reddit platform, terming this experience as a ‘Bumble Scam’. The 24-year-old man stated that the entire sequence of events made him feel cheated, depressed and even cheap. He quoted:
Maybe I don’t appear attractive socially. Anyways, this one time that did get a match, I got a little too excited. She asked me to meet near Huda Metro, agreed. I bought flowers & a card from Gifts of love.
This was my first date in 3 years. I was looking forward for some nice conversations. I saw her. She looked a little messy. I was cool with messy. But then she talked. Her accent was very local. And her english was extremely poor (not that i judge, it’s just that on texts – it was very savvy and colloquial like pure gen z talk) Anyways. I was a little uncomfortable. But wanted to be respectful. I asked her if she would like to get away from the metro station and head to a cafe or something. She said that we can go to a hotel or my place. Said that she charges 6000 bucks for one shot (i have no idea what that means).
I thought that this is a good time to leave. I kindly told her that I must’ve mistaken the intent of this meet. She held my hand and accused me of wasting her time. And gave me threats. Something on the lines of screaming in public and creating a scene. I tried to pacify her. She started asking for money. I gave her all the cash had. She gave a lot shit for wasting her time. Still. I came back. Feeling like a loser…”
Case 2:
In September this year, a 35-year-old PhD scholar employed at the Council of Scientific & Industrial Research (CSIR)-IMTech in Chandigarh fell prey to online fraudsters who cheated her of Rs 98,500.
According to a detailed report by The Indian Express, the woman had got acquainted with one Dr Aayaan Kumar George in September this year through the Bumble App. George claimed to be a doctor working in the UK. The duo started communicating via whatsapp since September 2023.
The victim had no clue what she was in for. On September 28, she received a whatsapp call from George who informed her that he had landed at the Delhi International Airport along with his mother. However, soon the lady received another call from a woman who identified herself as a customs officer. The latter insisted that the victim must transfer Rs 68,500 to her online since George had been caught with 1 Lakh GBP, that exceeded the permissible limit.
After having transferred Rs 68,500, the customs officer asked the victim to transfer additional Rs 3 lakh and the same was insisted by George as well. Since the victim could only transfer Rs 1 lakh, under pressure, she ended up transferring another Rs 30,000 to the said account.
When the lady learnt that she had been duped, she filed an FIR at the local police station under Sections 419, 420, and 120B of the IPC.
Case 3:
In yet another case reported this month from the capital, a man named Archit Gupta took to X (formally known as Twitter) and called out a local bar in West Delhi for allegedly scamming him while he was on a date through the Bumble App. Sharing his experience of getting conned, Gupta said:
Fraud Alert: Met a girl on @bumble, went to The Race Lounge & Bar in Rajouri Garden. She ordered drinks and the bill was Rs 15,886. Realised it was a scam. Discovered many people are scammed. @Cyberdost 1930 not working, @DelhiPolice please take action. Read the whole story:
Sharing his detailed experience, Gupta said that after getting acquainted with a girl through Bumble, she suggested a meeting at The Race Lounge and Bar in Rajouri Garden. Although Gupta wasn’t too keen on the cafe, he decided to go along with it without making a fuss. At the cafe, the girl ordered a drink for herself, while Gupta opted for a Red Bull. The duo consumed a hookah, 2-3 glasses of wine, a vodka shot, chicken tikka, and a water bottle and then the bill arrived totalling to Rs 15,886/-.
While Gupta made the payment, the restaurant tapped his credit card four times as apparently there was some issue with their machine. The victim also said that he could not trace the bill on their table after he returned from the washroom. The woman, on the other hand, insisted to leave the venue stating that her brother was going to pick her up soon.
When Gupta returned home, he realised that he had been scammed and subsequently called up his bank to keep the credit card payment pending under dispute.
Click here to entire story.
Case 4:
On July 30, 2023, another X User named Abhinav Mishra had called out the same Rajouri Garden Restaurant for scamming him. He narrated his experience as below:
I would like to bring the attention of @DelhiPolice @DCPWestDelhi @CrimeBranchDP @DCPCentralDelhi @GST_Council @incometaxdelhi that there is a scamming Nexus going on around Rajouri garden. As on 28 of July went to “The Race lounge and bar on a date with a girl whom i met on a dating app. She asked me to meet and so I went here, she ordered some items and heavy amount of bill which was around 11k for the items which should be around 2.5k to 3k maximum and I realised this scam a bit late.
When I confronted the staff they were reluctant to help me as they are also part of the scam. They even threatened me to come again to their place and also the bill provided didn’t even have the enterprise GST no. or any registration number on the bill. P.S.: I have evidence to support my story, which is admissible evidence like call recording, payment made through UPI. I will attach the bill and even a link to their google business page The Race Lounge And Bar.
Click here to read full story as shared by Mishra.
Case 5:
Another experience shared by a Reddit user almost 8-months ago also expressed similar concern over restaurant billing scams while meeting their date partner. The post read as below:
A girl I met on bumble asked me “Let’s meet today” and she was very keen on meeting the same day and asked me to come to karkardooma court & then to cross river mall and then she took me to this place “Big Daddy” or some similar name at Karkardooma, Cross River Mall Delhi – This place is probably running a scam with some girls on dating apps.
At this place – They showed me a very small one pager menu with Hooka for 8k-12k around, 30 ml pegs of Blackdog/Vodka etc starting at 800-1200 bucks each and the girl ordered a vodka shot & gulped it and was interested in repeating the drink and wanted to order the hukka too. Food was mentioned as Veg for 1200 & non veg 1400 or similar rate and no detail of what what is in veg & what is in nonveg.
For bill they gave me a kaccha Receipt & not even a taxed bill.(Also another girl that I was matched with a week back had also ask me to come to cross river mall & that same girl I saw sitting at this place as well. She got a big tattoo on her arm). I have pics of both of the women with me.
I also called cyber crime & talked to them and they told me to call the normal police & tell them about it. I wanted to stay anonymous so I didn’t call the normal Police but I tried to reach Cyber crime website and they do not have option to register anonymous complaint for such matters.
I have also Heard of scams like taking lot of vodka shots by girls at GTB Pubs with whom you meet on dating apps and taking your bill to reach a high value like 10k or above. I am again going on such a date today at GTB nagar / hudson lane (Again she said “lets meet today”) and I am already assuming it will be a scam if not then its good to go.
How Can We Be Alert & Not Get Scammed?
While there are no formulas, one can be smart and not get carried away with the hope and anticipation of what will happen on the blind date! Here are some tips that you can follow in order to be protected:
Personal Details: Remember you are communicating with an absolutely unknown person on the dating app, you may not even know the actual gender of that person on the other side. Be very cautious on what you are typing, speaking or sharing personal details until you meet actual individual and confirm his/her basic details. There are times both men and women are lured so much into the daily conversations, that they even go ahead and share their private pictures and videos with the unknown. Do not get excited or lose self-control, come what may.
Verify Identity Before Meeting: Thanks to social media, it has become easy to trace the real identity of people online. Try to do a random Google search of the person you are chatting with on the dating app. Of course, this can also be faked, but many times there are absolutely no traces of such individuals and this should be your first red flag.
Verify Image: Another simple way to check whether the photograph of the person is real or not, try doing a reverse image search on Google. You can learn how to do so by clicking here. This will be of immense help if anyone is trying to fool you with fake attractive pictures on their profiles.
Never Make Payments: Many times, you can be emotionally lured into online chats and often due to loneliness in life, you start hallucinating the relationship to be real. A strong word of caution to not make any payment/online transfers to the person you meet through such dating apps. They may create situations like how they are stuck badly or in need of urgent funds, however, no matter how much their story sounds emotional and convincing, never ever send money to such individuals. Any demand of money should be the biggest sign of a scam.
Threats of Rape Case: Always keep all chats saved in your phone/laptop/desktop. Never delete the same. While this may not save you from false cases, these chats will become important source of evidence in case you fall in the trap. If you happen to be blackmailed by any person who claims to be a police officer, do not give in. Walk to the nearest police station and report the matter. If you pay once, the blackmail will never end.
This is not restricted only to unmarried men. Even if you are married and meeting the person via dating app consensually after sharing all your details truthfully, do not given into the blackmail. It may sound morally wrong, but married men are the easiest catches for such gangs. There may be social shame and stigma initially, but it is better to face it upfront instead of being dragged to the extent of ending life.
Helpline Numbers: Lastly, in case you still fall for the fraud, immediately alert Cyber Fraud Helpline at 1930 OR Pan India Emergency Helpline Number at 112.
DO WATCH
Interview | Sarvjeet Singh Bedi | Convicted By Media, Acquitted By Court
LEAVE YOUR COMMENTS BELOW:
#BLOG | How Can You Save Yourself From Online Dating App Scams In India? | #Tinder | #Bumble
▪️Revealing Personal Details?
▪️Verify Identity
▪️Verify Image Using Tech
▪️Never Make Payments
▪️Threat of #FalseRape Cases
▪️Helpline Numbers#VoiceForMen https://t.co/h9Cq73Hghb— Voice For Men India (@voiceformenind) November 22, 2023
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