Scam alert: Bengaluru man loses ₹1.29 crore in investment scam via dating app

In shocking news, a Bengaluru man was duped of a whopping ₹1.29 crore in an online investment scam. What’s scarier is that the scam happened through a dating app. The scammer, via the dating app, gained the trust of the man and lured him to invest in a website that claimed to give high returns from international stock markets. Now, the report has been logged with the North CEN (Cybercrime, Economic Offences, Narcotics) Police, and the investigation is underway. Know in detail how the scam unfolded, and how the Bengaluru man was tricked into spending this much amount of money.

According to an NDTV report, a 42-year-old Bengaluru man named Jagadish C met a woman who identified herself as Meghana Reddy via a dating app called Quack Quack. The women gained Jagadish’s trust over time and convinced him to invest in an old-age home in her father’s name.

The woman lured him to a website that claimed to offer opportunities in international stock markets. The scammer posed as a woman, also shared several profit screenshots to gain trust. Without knowing the consequences, the man made several payments via RTGS and NEFT on November 5 and 6, and gave a total of ₹1,29,33,253 to the woman he met on the dating app.

Soon after the payments, the woman disappeared, and the man did not make a promise for return or the money back, believing that he had been lured into a scam. On November 7, Jagadish filed a complaint under the Information Technology Act, 2000, and Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), 2023.

Now it is advised to converse with caution when interacting with strangers on dating apps and any other social media apps, especially when it comes to business or investment-related topics. Additionally, avoid sharing any sensitive or personal information about yourself to strangers.