Mumbai Woman Duped of ₹3.37 Lakh by Online Dating Scam

Mumbai: A 43-year-old woman has reported being defrauded of ₹3.37 lakh by a man she befriended on a dating app, police officials revealed on Friday. The woman, an art director, met a person named "Advait" on Tinder last month and began exchanging messages with him.

According to the police, "Advait" claimed he was currently abroad and would be visiting Mumbai on September 16 to meet her. On the scheduled date, she received a call from someone purporting to be a customs official in Delhi. The caller informed her that her friend "Advait" had been detained at the airport with a large sum of Euros.

The so-called official pressured her to pay ₹3.37 lakh through UPI to facilitate her friend’s release. Following his instructions, she transferred the money. However, the caller later demanded an additional ₹4.99 lakh to be deposited into a bank account.

While at her bank to transfer the further funds, bank officials became suspicious of her situation and alerted her, ultimately preventing her from sending more money. Following the incident, a case of cheating has been registered at Versova police station against unidentified fraudsters, and an investigation is currently underway.

This incident follows a similar case in which a 33-year-old resident of Malad was defrauded of ₹2.45 lakh by a man claiming to be a doctor from the UK. That man also alleged he was facing customs issues during his visit to India and promised to repay her once he was out of trouble