Love is blind, but one can pay a very heavy price for trusting someone blindly, especially if the other person turns out to be a scamster. From blackmailing scandals to kidnappings, dating apps have been used to pull off numerous crimes in India.
A Hong Kong-based Italian business consultant was robbed of Rs 14.85 crore, after he fell in love with a stock broker in Singapore via Tinder.
More than just a bad romance
The 55-year-old consultant who advises other firms, forgot to exercise caution in his own life, as he was scammed by a con artist posing as the woman.
After developing a romantic relationship on Tinder, the scammer made the consultant set up an account with a fake trading platform.
With promises of high returns, he was told to transfer the money in nine different accounts via 22 transactions.
After the man realised that he had been duped, the police started investigating the matter as a case of obtaining property by deception.
Dating apps hunting grounds for scammers
The scheme is also referred to as the pig butchering scam, where a victim is lured with smaller profits and then a large amount is siphoned off.
With the situation worsening, Tinder along with other apps are offering tips on avoiding such bad romances by spotting red flags.
Last year, a documentary titled Tinder Swindler had also featured women who had been scammed by a man using Tinder to lure his victims.
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