21 May,2026 08:55 PM IST | Mumbai | Aishwarya Iyer
Officials said efforts are on to identify the accused and recover the defrauded amount. Representational Pic/File
A 38-year-old Mumbai businessman allegedly lost nearly Rs 22 lakh in a cyber fraud after being lured by a woman he met on the dating app.
Police said the victim, a Byculla-based interior designer, was tricked into investing in a fake online trading platform that showed fabricated profits.
A case has been registered with the Cyber Police Station, Central Division, under sections related to cheating, impersonation and cyber fraud. Investigations are underway to trace the money trail and digital accounts involved.
According to police, the complainant had created a Bumble profile nearly two years ago while searching for a life partner. On March 25, he matched with a woman who identified herself as "Ananya Sharma" from Delhi.
The two began chatting regularly and built rapport through conversations over several days.
Police said the woman soon asked to move the conversation to Telegram and later to WhatsApp. The chats and phone calls continued, during which she allegedly gained the victim's trust by discussing personal matters.
Within a week, the woman allegedly introduced him to online trading. She claimed to be earning high returns through a platform linked to "Darwinex" and persuaded him to invest.
She sent him a link to a trading website where he registered and was shown a personalised dashboard displaying supposed profits.
The victim allegedly transferred an initial Rs 50,000 to a bank account provided by the accused on April 1. The amount appeared on the trading dashboard, convincing him that the platform was genuine.
Encouraged by the apparent returns, the victim continued investing larger amounts. Rs 10 lakh was transferred on April 6 and Rs 11 lakh on April 20, police said.
Police said the total investment reached Rs 21.5 lakh, transferred into multiple bank accounts shared by the accused.
The trading platform later displayed profits of around USD 76,848 (approximately Rs 69 lakh), making the victim believe he had earned substantial returns.
When the victim tried to withdraw the money, he was allegedly told to pay 30 per cent tax on the profits first. He was also given repeated excuses and asked for additional payments.
Police said this is when he realised he had been cheated.
The victim approached the cybercrime helpline and later filed a formal complaint. Police are now tracking the bank accounts, IP addresses and digital footprint linked to the scam.
Officials said efforts are on to identify the accused and recover the defrauded amount.
