Bumble match costs Mumbai man ₹21.5 lakh

A 38-year-old interior designer from Mumbai's Byculla has told police he lost ₹21.5 lakh after a woman he met on Bumble allegedly steered him into a fake online trading scheme. NDTV, citing police, reported on May 22 that the man was first drawn into conversation on the dating app and later moved to Telegram and WhatsApp, where the woman promoted share and forex trading through a platform called Darwinex. The victim made an initial payment of ₹50,000 on April 1 and later sent larger sums after seeing apparent gains on what police described as a fake dashboard. Central Region Cyber Police have registered a case and opened an investigation. ### How did the contact begin? Mid-day reported that the complainant had created a Bumble profile nearly two years ago because he was looking for a woman for marriage. On March 25, he came across a profile for a woman identified as “A, 36,” liked it and sent a request, the report said. After the match was accepted, the two began chatting regularly. (ndtv.com) NDTV reported that police said the woman gradually gained the man's trust and shifted the conversation off Bumble, first to Telegram and then to WhatsApp. Once the contact moved there, she introduced him to online share and forex trading and told him he could make heavy profits in a short period, according to the report. (mid-day.com) ### What was the investment pitch? Police told NDTV that the woman advised the victim to invest through a platform named Darwinex and promised high returns. The man then put in ₹50,000 on April 1, according to the report. The dashboard later showed what appeared to be growing profits, and that display was used to persuade him to transfer more money, NDTV said. (ndtv.com) Over the next few weeks, he was convinced to send larger amounts, including ₹10 lakh and ₹11 lakh, to different bank accounts provided by the accused, taking the total to ₹21.5 lakh. ### When did he realize it was a scam? NDTV reported that the victim checked the account dashboard after making the transfers and saw a displayed profit of around ₹69 lakh. When he tried to withdraw the money, the fraudsters told him he first had to pay a 30% advance tax on the total amount, according to the report. (ndtv.com) That demand triggered suspicion. NDTV said the accused kept asking for more money instead of allowing a withdrawal, and the man then concluded he had been cheated. ### What have police done so far? Central Region Cyber Police have registered a case under relevant sections and begun a detailed probe, NDTV reported. (ndtv.com) Police are examining the bank accounts and digital transactions used in the alleged fraud and tracing the woman's social-media profiles, according to the report. The victim also contacted the cybercrime helpline before lodging his complaint, NDTV said. Mumbai Police says its 1930 cyber helpline operates 24x7 for citizens to register cyber-crime complaints, while the National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal says people can also report suspect bank accounts, phone numbers, WhatsApp numbers, Telegram handles and URLs through the government system. (ndtv.com) ### Why does this case fit a familiar fraud pattern? The case combined a romance approach with an investment lure. NDTV described it as an alleged cyber fraud and honeytrap racket in which trust built on a dating app was later used to push the victim into repeated transfers. Mid-day reported that the profits displayed on the platform were allegedly fake and that the money could not be withdrawn. (ndtv.com) Government reporting channels are already geared toward that kind of fraud. The Press Information Bureau said the toll-free 1930 helpline operates around the clock for cybercrime victims, particularly in financial fraud cases, and the National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal says complaints are routed to law-enforcement agencies based on the details submitted. (ndtv.com) ### What comes next in the case? The next step is the police investigation into the recipient bank accounts, transaction trail and the identity behind the Bumble-linked profile, according to NDTV. For victims in similar cases, Mumbai Police says complaints can be made through the 1930 helpline, and the government portal allows follow-up through the National Cyber Crime Reporting system. (ndtv.com) (pib.gov.in)