A shocking cyber fraud case has erupted in Bengaluru, where a software professional lost Rs 1.66 crore after being caught in an online trading scam by a girl he met on a dating site. Saurav Dubey filed a complaint against Riya Agarwal at the Southeast CEN Police Station after being cheated.
According to the complaint, Saurav met Riya Agarwal on February 15 on the dating app Tantan. What started as a casual online encounter became a very close friendship. They had video and audio conversations by phone and texted each other.
Police sources say that the accused woman gained the complainant’s trust through constant communication with him and appeared to be caring and supportive. She instructed him to invest in an online trading and investment platform that she said would make a lot of money when they spoke.
Saurav believed her claims and, according to her assurances, started investing money in the trading platform she suggested to him. The investment was carried out in stages over a period of nearly three months, investigators said. The complainant deposited Rs 1.66 crore into various accounts associated with the alleged trading operation.
First, the platform presented fake profits and returns to convince the victim that the investments were genuine. But when Saurav tried to withdraw the profits and his original investment amount, he faced repeated delays and excuses.
The victim, who had spent around Rs 1.66 crore, only got Rs 4,250 in return, the complaint said. When suspicion grew, he repeatedly asked for the money to be returned and continued to press for his money. The accused woman switched off her mobile phone and became unreachable.
Saurav, having realised he was cheated, went to the Southeast CEN Police Station and filed a complaint. Police have now registered a case and started an investigation into the large-scale cyber fraud.
The police believe he may be part of a larger organised online scam network that targets individuals through dating apps and social media platforms, they say.
Police are looking into the bank accounts, mobile numbers, and digital transaction records associated with the case. They are also looking into whether the accused woman, Riya Agarwal, was genuine or fake.
Cybercrime officials are warning people to be wary of strangers online, especially on dating apps. They advise people not to invest money based on online relationships or promises of extraordinarily lucrative returns.
There’s more work to be done, and police will look for more victims who could have been cheated.
