A 53-year-old man from Mysuru fell victim to a sophisticated online matrimonial scam, losing over Rs. 13 lakh after being manipulated through fake profiles and emotional pressure, highlighting a worrying rise in cyber fraud schemes across India.
A 53-year-old man from Mysuru has lost Rs. 13.06 lakh after what police say was an online matrimonial fraud that began with a friendly chat and ended in repeated money transfers. A complaint has been filed at the city’s Cybercrime, Economic Offences and Narcotics police station after the victim realised he could no longer reach the woman he had met on a matrimonial website.
According to the complaint, the man first connected with a woman identifying herself as Reena on July 31. The conversation appeared ordinary at first, but on August 17 she rang to say she was carrying Rs. 1 crore in cash to Mumbai. She later claimed Customs officials had detained her and were demanding tax and other payments, a story that persuaded him to send Rs. 91,000 initially and then more money in several instalments. By the time the payments stopped, the total loss had risen to Rs. 13.06 lakh.
Cybercrime cases built around fake relationship profiles have become a recurring pattern across India. In Gujarat, police recently arrested five people accused of using a fabricated matrimonial identity to lure a Surat resident into a Rs. 2.30 crore fraud that shifted from courtship to bogus investment promises. In Kerala, police arrested three people linked to a Cambodia-based racket that allegedly targeted a Kochi doctor through a false marriage proposal and cheated him of Rs. 37 lakh. Hyderabad police have also reported a matrimony-cum-investment fraud that cost a victim Rs. 46.65 lakh.
Officials and cyber experts say such schemes often rely on urgency, emotional pressure and repeated requests for small transfers that quickly add up. In this case, the victim turned to the National Cybercrime Helpline 1930 and then approached police, who have registered the complaint as part of an investigation into the identity behind the Reena profile.
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