Doctor, lawyer, film producer, model, businessman — behind many online personas is a 35-year-old man who allegedly duped over 500 women across the country of more than Rs 2 crore by using fake social media or dating app profiles, emotional stories and promises of marriage to lure victims into his trap.

The accused, Anand Kumar, was arrested by a team of southwest cyber police for allegedly running an organised network of romance scams, honey-trapping and online blackmail targeting women through dating and matrimonial platforms, DCP (Southwest) Amit Goel said.