Talking to stanger on dating app costs Kondhwa bizman ₹7cr

Pune: A Kondhwa-based businessman (53) paid a hefty price for befriending a stranger, whom he thought to be a woman, and chatting with “her” for six months on a dating app. He fell for the glib talks, promises of handsome returns in forex and crypto and lost over Rs 7 crore.

The businessman, who runs an automobile parts manufacturing unit in Bhosari, lodged a complaint with the Pune cyber police on Friday.

Senior inspector Swapnali Shinde of the cyber police said, “The man is unmarried and stays with his father in Kondhwa. He was looking for a prospective bride, for which he had made his profile on the dating app.”

Shinde said, “He came across a profile on the app. The person behind the profile and the businessman started chatting. After gaining his trust, the person convinced the businessman to invest in currency trading, either foreign exchange or cryptocurrencies.”

The officer said police are yet not sure if one or multiple fraudsters were involved in the crime.

The fraudster/s asked the businessman to open an account on a platform used for currency trading. He started trading in currencies through the online exchange facility and, within a few days, the profits on the platform showed a profit of Rs 5 crore. The suspect/s then urged him to invest more money in currency trading to earn higher profits and promised to help him with the trades, police said.

Shinde said, “The fraudster/s subsequently persuaded the businessman to transfer money into seven bank accounts, where the victim eventually transferred a total of Rs 7.07 crore between Oct 2025 and April.”

“The investment amount shown on the app appeared to be increasing. However, whenever the victim tried to withdraw the money, he was asked to deposit more funds for various reasons, including taxes and documentation fees,” she said.