A post on X warning of a new dating-app scam in Bengaluru has went viral with screenshots that purport to show how men are being tricked into paying for cabs that do not exist.
Posting from the handle @CitizenKamran on Thursday evening, the user said several men were "reportedly being targeted through Tinder and Bumble".
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According to the post, the woman agrees to meet after matching but first asks the man to pay for her cab. She then claims she does not trust him and asks him to pay the driver in advance.
"There is no actual cab booking," the post alleged, saying the scammer edits the fare, driver's name and other cab details. Once the money is sent, it said, "she blocks him and disappears."
The screenshots show a WhatsApp chat that begins at 10:34 p.m. with what looks like a cab booking, showing a "Pick-up in 17 min" notice, a PIN and a cash payment tag. "He will arrive in 17 minutes," the woman writes.
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The man offers to pay her directly. "Give your UPI, I will pay you. For the cab," he writes. She declines: "I'll call you once he reaches. You will pay the driver directly, okay?"
When he repeats his offer, she says, "Pay the driver directly," adding, "My bank doesn't work at night most of the time."
By 10:45 pm, she writes in Hinglish: "The cab has arrived," followed by "I'm sending the driver's QR code." She then sends a photo of a phone showing a UPI QR code.
The man tells her, "You just show your ID and come to the room." She replies, "Okay." He adds, "Ok, I will check in," and she responds, "You have reached."
He says he will be there "in 10 minutes", then asks, "How much time is it showing for you?" At 11:00 p.m. and 11:06 p.m. he follows up with "??" and "Do you have your physical ID?"
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Both messages show a single tick, meaning they were not delivered. His voice call at 11:16 p.m. went unanswered.
Cyber-safety advisories generally urge users not to transfer money to people they have not met, and to verify payments through the ride-hailing app itself.
Anyone defrauded online can report it on the national cybercrime helpline 1930 or at cybercrime.gov.in.
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