Woman creates fake profile on matrimonial site, cheats Mumbai man of Rs23 lakh

Woman tricks corporate professional into ‘paying’ for her father’s treatment and buying her an iPhone

A senior corporate professional was allegedly duped of ₹23.44 lakh by a woman he met through a matrimonial website on the pretext of paying for her father’s medical treatment. An FIR was registered at Powai police station on Tuesday.

Cases of online matrimonial fraud in Maharashtra went up 50% in 2017 from the previous year. (HT)

According to the police, the 31-year-old complainant came across the woman’s profile last year and sent her a request. She shared her mobile phone number and the two started texting and eventually calling each other.

The complainant had asked the woman to meet him at least once, but she kept refusing to do so.

According to the police, the complainant and woman agreed to meet each other on her birthday and she made him buy an iPhone. However, on her birthday, the woman cancelled the meeting, saying her father had been admitted to hospital. She then asked for money and that her brother who worked in London would return the money soon.

The woman got her mother, sister and father to request the complainant on the phone, which convinced him to send money online. Citing her father’s treatment, the woman took a total of ₹23.44 lakh, which includes the cost of the iPhone, through multiple transactions.

The woman confessed to uploading fake photos as she wanted to lure someone who could pay for her father’s treatment, the police said. She then requested the complainant to not to go to the police and that she would return the money soon.

According to the police, the complainant promised to forgive her if she returned his money, however, when the complainant called her last week asking for his money, she threatened to implicate him in a crime case.