A shocking cybercrime case has come to light in Bengaluru, in which a 23-year-old man from Bellandur area was recently blackmailed by an anonymous woman using an obscene video taken by AI (an image of his phone to show the video made by cyber criminals, and she had to pay to a 23 year old man to blackmail him.
With a dating site called Aaradhya which is one of the most popular dating apps, this case was reported to have been the victim of cybercriminals who used it as the first online dating website (Aaradhya). In fear of being targeted the victim transferred money to multiple UPI IDs over three days.
According to the complaint, it all started on September 27 when the young man met Aaradhya on a dating app. The two exchanged their mobile phone numbers soon after speaking on the app and then received a WhatsApp video call from the number of the woman.
It took only five to six seconds before the call was lost, the complaint said. It seems to have been an ordinary enough interaction at first but then it turned into something sinister just after.
The victim appeared to have seen an obscene video of him in an explicit situation, the police said. He said the video had been manipulated by artificial intelligence. AI-generated or morphed visual content may have been the central theme of the blackmail operation, as the actors used the video to scare and extract money from the victim.
The alleged cybercriminals then threatened to share the video on social media if the victim did not pay them. The video had made him very anxious and upset, he said. According to the complaint, the accused demanded money and kept threatening him over the alleged footage.
Fearing reputational damage and public humiliation, he borrowed money from friends to fulfill the demands. Between September 27 and September 29 he transferred ₹1.85 lakh in several instalments to different UPI IDs.
The payments did not stop the harassment and the victim came to know that he was being targeted in a cyber extortion scheme. He approached the cybercrime authorities and filed an online complaint against those responsible.
After the complaint, the police filed a First Information Report (FIR) under Sections 66C and 66D of the Information Technology Act as well as relevant provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS). It is relevant to note that in section 66C of the IT Act there are two provisions that deal with identity theft and section 66D deals with cheating by personation using computer resources or communication devices.
The investigation is now about tracking the people who created the dating app profile, identifying the phone numbers and investigating the UPI accounts that received the money. Digital evidence related to the WhatsApp call, the alleged manipulated video and the communications used to threaten the victim will be looked at by investigators.
The report also noted an increase in the number of cybercrime-related cases reported in Karnataka in 2024, which rose to 104 in 2025, according to police records. As of August 2026, 57 cases were reported.
These numbers speak to reported cases and do not indicate the overall penetration in cybercrime and some victims are scared of going to the police for fear of being embarrassed or in fear of being stigmatized. Bengaluru’s recent incidence shows how cybercriminals can leverage such concerns to press victims into paying repeated payments.
Online dating apps and messaging services are also very sensitive to cyber security and users should be careful when sharing personal information with people who have only recently met online. Unreturned video calls from unknown numbers should be treated carefully and users should never share intimate images, personal information or financial details with unverified contacts.
And if someone threatens to publish an alleged intimate video unless money is paid, victims should save messages, phone numbers, payment receipts and other digital evidence rather than delete the communications.
Paying the demands for payment will not erase threats, they can even be made more and more frequently. Victims would ideally report the incident to the cybercrime authorities and seek assistance from them.
The Bellandur case is a reminder once more that it is good for AI technology but is also a tool where people can make them fake, impersonate others and even extort others. But even if videos that are fake look real, people shouldn’t just assume that every video they see on the web is real.
The people who get targeted are not to blame themselves but to have threats deter them from seeking help.
Prompt reporting would help investigators track out payments and evidence that is lost. And as police pursue the investigation into the alleged ₹1.85 lakh fraud, this case should be a signal to online dating users in Bengaluru and Karnataka to keep an eye out for suspicious contact, accidental video calls and threats from AI-generated content.
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