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Indian Tinder Swindler dupes Bengaluru woman of Rs 4.5 lakh. How you can avoid being catfished

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Dristi Sharma
Dristi SharmaMay 29, 2023 | 15:41

Indian Tinder Swindler dupes Bengaluru woman of Rs 4.5 lakh. How you can avoid being catfished

When you are using a dating app, you know there are many things that can go wrong. Dealing with cheating, heartbreaks and fake profiles is quite common, but we hardly see anyone getting conned on a dating platform.

In what comes as the Indian version of Tinder Swindler (a true-crime Netflix docuseries), a 37-year-old woman from Bengaluru was duped of Rs 4.5 lakh by a man she met on the dating app Tinder.

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So, here's what happened: 

When a 37-year-old woman from Bengaluru first logged on to Tinder, she couldn't have anticipated the unfortunate turn of events that awaited her. She was conned out of Rs 4.5 lakh by a 'London boy'  whom she fell in love with on the app. The woman, who works at a private firm, connected with a person named Advik Chopra, who claimed to be a medical professional based in London.

 

 

Unbeknownst to her, Chopra had registered under a false identity. Intrigued by his profile, she reciprocated the interest, resulting in a match. During their conversations on WhatsApp, Chopra told the woman that he worked as a medical practitioner in London, United Kingdom
- Police Official [MoneyControl]
  • Over the course of their conversations on WhatsApp, the woman fell in love with Chopra, who expressed a desire to meet her in person and claimed he would fly to Bengaluru.
  • On May 17, the woman received a call from someone posing as an official from the Airports Authority of India (AAI) and asked her to pay Rs 1.8 lakh as fees and an additional Rs 2.06 lakh as a processing fee.
  • This 'AAI official' convinced her that Chopra had made the journey, and she ended up paying the money. 

However, she got suspicious when she was asked for an additional Rs 6 lakh for GST purposes. But she was a little late, and when she tried to inquire further, the call abruptly ended. Chopra ceased all communications, including his Tinder profile that was also deleted. 

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The woman reported the incident to the city police, who subsequently informed the Whitefield cyber crime police station on May 19. Right now, the police are investigating the case to help recover the woman's lost money.

Lately, a lot of similar instances have been reported where scammers make fake profiles on Tinder and other dating apps. For instance, last month, a 55-year-old Italian man living in Hong Kong lost Rs 14 crore as he was conned by his Tinder match. He 'invested' his money in a digital currency. In another case in February 2023, a woman from the US was duped of Rs 2 crore after she invested that money in a 'cryptocurrency'. She had met her match on another dating app called Hinge. 

Online dating catfishing can be a frustrating and potentially dangerous. However, there are steps you can take to protect yourself and reduce the risk of falling victim to catfishing. Here are some tips:

  1. Research the person: First and foremost, before getting too involved with someone you've met online, do some research. Use search engines and social media platforms to look for information about them. If their online presence is scarce or inconsistent, it could be a red flag. 

  2. Go for verified profiles: Dating apps have verified profiles, prefer them while swiping right, over unverified ones. Make sure that the person has at least more than 4-5 photos on their profile to be sure. 

  3. Use reverse image search: Use a reverse image search tool like Google Images to check if the photo that personal has uploaded appears elsewhere online. This can help you determine if the picture is legitimate or stolen from somewhere else.

Now, once you match with that person and are in the talking phase, here are certain things you can keep in mind: 

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  1. Video chat or meet in person: Catfishers often avoid video chats or in-person meetings because they want to maintain their anonymity. Insist on having video chats to verify the person's identity and ensure they are who they claim to be.

  2. Trust your instincts: Above all, if something feels off or too good to be true, trust your instincts. Pay attention to inconsistencies in their stories, suspicious behavior, or requests for personal information or money. Don't ignore red flags.

  3. Be cautious with personal information: Avoid sharing sensitive personal information, such as your address, workplace details, or financial details with someone you've just met online. Protect your privacy until you have established trust.

  4. Take it slow: Keep in mind, take your own sweet time, and don't 'help someone' money-wise, you've just met online (be a little cautious). Building trust and getting to know someone takes time. Catfishers often rush relationships and try to establish an emotional connection quickly. Maintain a healthy level of scepticism (not too much though) and take your time before fully investing in the relationship.

  5. Talk to friends or family: Share your online dating experiences with trusted friends or family members. They can offer valuable perspectives and help you spot potential warning signs that you might miss.

  6. Educate yourself about catfishing: Learn about common catfishing techniques and tactics employed by scammers. The most recent one is, scammers asking you to invest in digital currency. By doing so, you are familiarizing yourself with their strategies. 

And finally, if you found something suspicious about a person with your investigative skills, help others also.

Last updated: May 29, 2023 | 15:42
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