26-year-old man loses Rs 2 lakh in dating app scam

Ghaziabad: A 26-year-old was cheated of Rs 2 lakh after he fell victim to an extortion scheme. The fraudsters, whom he originally connected with on a dating app, recorded an inappropriate video while on a video call and threatened to post the video on social media platforms if he did not pay.
The victim, a software engineer from Sahibabad, said he connected with a woman on March 3 and they exchanged WhatsApp and Instagram details. Around midnight, the two were on a video call when the woman recorded him in a compromised position.
"She then blackmailed me, demanding money or else she would send the video to my family and friends. To protect my reputation, I gave her a total of Rs 2 lakh across multiple transactions between March 3 and 4," the complainant said.
On March 19, the victim finally decided to file a police complaint in the matter after the fraudsters demanded more money from him.
An FIR was then registered against unknown persons under relevant sections of the IT Act at the Sahibabad police station.
"We are trying to get the details of the bank accounts in which the accused had the money transferred to. We have already sent letters to concerned banks for the details and also asked to seize the account as well. We are also taking help from the cyber police station in the case and a team has been formed to investigate the matter," said ACP (Sahibabad) Shweta Kumari Yadav.