What began as a promising Bumble match for a Byculla-based interior designer ended in an alleged cyber fraud that drained Rs 21.5 lakh from his bank account. The 38-year-old businessman was allegedly befriended by a woman on the dating app, who later moved the conversation to WhatsApp and lured him into investing in a purported online trading platform with promises of huge returns. He eventually transferred lakhs before discovering that the profits displayed on the platform were allegedly fake and the money could not be withdrawn.

The complainant had created a Bumble profile nearly two years ago as he was looking for a woman for marriage. On March 25, he came across the profile of a woman identifying herself as “A, 36 (age)”, liked her profile and sent her a request. After she accepted, the two began chatting regularly. The woman allegedly introduced herself as “Ananya Sharma”, residing in Delhi.