A shocking case of matrimonial fraud emerged in Karnataka, where a man allegedly set up fake profiles on many of the matrimonial affairs websites posing as a highly educated doctor with a PhD degree and conned more than ten women and their families out of lakhs of rupees in Bengaluru and Mysuru.
He allegedly pretended to be "Dr Pradeep Solomon," a doctor. He wasn’t alone in acting. The investigation has found he was not working alone. His mother, Kalavathi, too, is accused of colluding with and collaborating with the scam. The couple, who are absconding, are now registered at Adugodi Police Station, and they hide from the authorities.
Pradeep built widely-known matrimonial accounts according to the police, who claimed him to be a wealthy doctor, well educated, highly qualified and a PhD recipient. Fake profiles had deliberately tricked educated women and high-status households into going online to search for marriage.
The accused and his mother rented a posh bungalow in Mysuru to appear wealthy or of a high status, the authorities cited the claim. The lavish lifestyle and reputation of Pradeep also left some feeling that he could be among the elite relatives in terms of money.
According to reports, it was this image, developed in such detail, which enabled the couple to establish relationships with various women and their family members. After hearing discussions about marriage and trust-building, Pradeep purportedly began soliciting huge sums of money under different pretexts.
The accused repeatedly said that most of his funds were stuck “in banking or technical systems” for a time, police said. He would then apparently tell families these funds would soon be released, which they asked for quick financial assistance to in the short term. He was well, some families heard, and they, in turn, allegedly sent him lakhs of rupees.
In a recent case, a rich Bengaluru family was found to have been subjected to large losses after giving the villain enormous sums of money. The victims are in shock and have suffered substantial financial hardship. They were also informed by a report that, soon after the scheme of collecting money, Pradeep and his mother disappeared from view, would not communicate, and would not return. It also circulated information that other women and families in Mysuru and Bengaluru had been duped, and some of them even reported the same fraud on them.
Now, some victims showed up outside a rented Mysuru bungalow to document their stories and demand stricter prosecution of the perpetrators. The case has sparked alarm bells of more abuse of matrimonial websites by fraudsters posing as possessing fake degrees, job titles and financial backgrounds.
Online matrimonial fraud has become more sophisticated, according to cybercrime experts, and fraudsters now use luxury lifestyles, fake degrees, manufactured jobs and emotional manipulation to exploit the gullibility of their targets. Police station officers at Adugodi Police Station have initiated a rapid search to locate the alleged mother and son pair. Police officials say that they have carried out raids and collected digital evidence over the past couple of days.
The interrogators are also seeking bank transactions, mobile records and matrimonial website activity in connection with the accused. One such team has been formed, he said, to monitor where they are and whether more victims are in other cities.
The police have also advised those searching for matches on matrimonial sites to look for qualifications around education and employment history, family background and finances before entering a conversation about marriage or remittances. Families are ordered not to put money transfers on trust-based transactions forged by the internet, officials say.
The case further emphasised the dangers of online matrimonial fraud that is increasingly turning emotional trust and marriage expectations into a financial transaction. As the system goes global around Karnataka, the investigators believe it will also draw more victims.
