Right-Swiped On The Wrong Person
The rising criminal cases in online dating are proof that these platforms are risky paths to tread on. Before meeting someone, one must do their due diligence – review profiles carefully to determine their legitimacy, take some time to converse and get to know the person, before putting their trust in them. But, the big question is – is it ever enough?
In metro cities, there have been uncountable cases of cyber crimes that have taken place on dating and matrimonial platforms. Here are certain cases where the search for a dream partner turned into a nightmare.
Trio scams over 50 people through dating apps
In Noida, three people were arrested for allegedly drugging and robbing about 50 individuals, over a span of 8 months, after befriending them on dating platforms. The police forces had begun the investigation, after receiving a couple of complaints from victims who were honey-trapped and then robbed. Another common factor in both these cases was that their drinks were laced with sedatives. Things really escalated when the police found a victim’s body in a hotel room. Knowing that the culprits had escaped in a stolen vehicle, a team was set up to nab them. After over 3 months of chase, they were finally arrested while travelling in the stolen vehicle.
Group tries to extort US$0.01 Bn from a businessman they found on a dating app
Two men and a woman searched for targets on dating sites like Tinder, where they’d lure men into meeting up. During those meetings, the woman would discreetly place hidden cameras around the room to capture intimate photos and videos which were later used to extort money. One of their victims, a well-established businessman, decided to lodge a complaint after receiving a call from an unknown number, where the caller threatened to leak “obscene” photographs and videos of him on social media, if he failed to pay ₹ 1 Cr. The police managed to arrest one of the culprits who led them to the other two as well.
Engineer promised premium membership on dating site gets duped
A man from Bengaluru, Karnataka, tried to enrol as a member of a dating site when an unidentified individual who claimed to be from the app’s management team contacted him and lured him into paying a membership fee. After that, he began paying large amounts towards multiple fees from his account – to the point where he ended up spending all of his savings. Once he realised that he was being conned, he approached the East Division Cybercrime Police and filed a complaint.
There are thousands of such dating app scams that occur on a daily basis, across the world. In 2021 alone, over 24,000 Amercians were targeted by scammers on dating apps. They managed to steal over US$1.0 Bn from their victims. Therefore, it’s imperative for one to be extremely careful about whom they are forming a deeper relationship with, especially if they’ve met through a dating platform.
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