A 43-year-old Mumbai woman was allegedly defrauded of ₹3.37 lakh by a man she met on a dating app, police reported on Friday. The victim, an art director, connected with someone named ‘Advait’ on Tinder in the previous month, and they began exchanging messages, according to a police official.
The man claimed he was abroad but would visit Mumbai on September 16 to meet her. On that date, she received a call from someone posing as a customs official from Delhi, who informed her that her friend Advait had been detained at the airport with a large sum of Euros.
The fake official instructed her to pay ₹3.37 lakh via UPI to secure Advait’s release, which she complied with, as mentioned in her complaint. Later, she was asked to transfer an additional ₹4.99 lakh to a bank account.
Upon visiting her bank to transfer the money, an attentive official inquired about the reason and, recognizing the situation as a scam, warned her. As a result, a case of fraud was filed at Versova police station, and an investigation is underway, the police official added.
In a similar case, a 33-year-old Malad resident was scammed out of ₹2.45 lakh by a man she met through a dating app. Posing as a UK-based doctor, he claimed to be detained at customs in India and promised to repay her once he was released.