‘Dream marriage’ turns into nightmare: How Bengaluru techie lost ₹30 lakh after falling for ‘NRI groom’

The police are currently investigating the matter and have initiated efforts to freeze the bank accounts used by the fraudsters.

A 34-year-old software engineer from Banaswadi, Bengaluru has fallen victim to an online matrimonial scam, losing more than Rs30 lakh to cybercriminals posing as an NRI suitor.

The woman received a proposal from a man named Jayesh, who introduced himself as an Anglo-Indian residing in Canada. (Unsplash )

According to the complaint filed on October 28, the woman, identified as Pallavi (name changed), had registered on a matrimonial website in search of a life partner. She received a proposal from a man named Jayesh, who introduced himself as an Anglo-Indian residing in Canada, with his family based in the United Kingdom, as per a report by The Times of India (TOI).

Jayesh claimed he worked for a reputed company and expressed his desire to marry an Indian woman and settle in India. He frequently contacted Pallavi over calls and messages from a Canadian number, convincing her of his sincerity. Trusting him, she deleted her profile from the matrimonial site after he said he planned to visit India soon to meet her family.

A few days later, Jayesh informed her that he was relocating to India permanently and had shipped his luggage and some gifts for her through a logistics firm named Inter Air Delivery Centre. Shortly afterwards, Pallavi received calls from people claiming to be representatives of the firm. They told her that the parcel had arrived in India and that she needed to pay ₹37,000 as clearance charges.

After transferring the amount to the account provided, she was told the consignment contained USD 1 lakh in cash and a cheque for USD 2 lakh. The fraudsters then demanded additional payments, citing reasons such as tax, insurance, IMF clearance, and currency conversion charges. Between September 29 and October 28, Pallavi transferred a total of Rs30.2 lakh to different bank accounts.

Each time she raised a concern, Jayesh reassured her that the payments were necessary and promised to reimburse her once he arrived in India. However, when the so-called logistics agents later demanded another ₹14.7 lakh, she grew suspicious. When confronted, Jayesh stopped responding and deleted his profile from the matrimonial site.

During their 20-day interaction, Jayesh had refused to appear on video calls, shared only photographs, and communicated mostly through voice calls.

Realising she had been cheated, Pallavi approached the police with evidence, including chat screenshots, call logs, payment receipts, and bank transaction details. The police are currently investigating the matter and have initiated efforts to freeze the bank accounts used by the fraudsters.