Bengaluru: A social media post warning of an alleged dating-app scam targeting men in Bengaluru has gone viral, with screenshots purportedly showing how victims are tricked into transferring money for cab rides that may not exist.

The post, shared from the X handle @CitizenKamran on Thursday evening, claimed that several men were reportedly being targeted through dating platforms such as Tinder and Bumble.

According to the post, the alleged scam begins when a woman matches with a man on a dating app and agrees to meet him. However, before the meeting, she asks him to arrange and pay for her cab.

The woman reportedly tells the man that she does not trust him enough to travel without payment being made in advance and insists that he pay the driver directly.

Fake cab booking used to seek money

The post alleges that the fraudsters share fabricated cab booking details, including the fare, driver’s name and other information, to make the arrangement appear genuine.

Once the man transfers the money through a UPI QR code allegedly sent by the woman, she blocks him and stops responding.

Screenshots shared with the post show a WhatsApp conversation that begins at around 10.34 pm. A message displaying what appears to be a cab booking indicates a pick-up time of 17 minutes, along with a PIN and a cash payment option.

“He will arrive in 17 minutes,” the woman tells the man.

The man offers to transfer the money directly to her through UPI, but she refuses and asks him to pay the driver instead.

“I’ll call you once he reaches. You will pay the driver directly, okay?” she reportedly tells him.

When he repeats his offer, she says, “Pay the driver directly,” adding that her bank does not work at night most of the time.

At around 10.45 pm, the woman claims that the cab has arrived and says she is sending the driver’s QR code. She then shares an image of a phone displaying a UPI QR code.

Messages stop after QR code is shared

The conversation continues with the man telling the woman to show her identity card and come to the room. She agrees, and the man says he will check in.

After exchanging messages about their arrival, the man says he will reach in 10 minutes and asks how much time the journey is showing on her side.

However, his subsequent messages at around 11 pm and 11.06 pm receive only a single tick on WhatsApp, indicating that they have not been delivered. His voice call at 11.16 pm also goes unanswered.

The screenshots appear to illustrate the sequence described in the viral post, although the allegations have not been independently verified.

Earlier dating-app fraud reports

The warning comes amid reports of other alleged frauds involving dating-app matches. In a separate Bengaluru case highlighted in a media report, a man reportedly lost Rs 27,200 after being approached by a woman on Tinder, who later unmatched and blocked him.

Dating platforms are also introducing new features and formats to encourage different kinds of interactions. However, users are advised to exercise caution when moving conversations to messaging apps or making payments to people they have not met.

Cyber-safety advisories generally caution users against transferring money to strangers and recommend verifying cab bookings and payment requests directly through the official ride-hailing application.

Anyone who loses money in an online financial fraud can immediately call the national cybercrime helpline 1930 or report the incident through the official portal, cybercrime.gov.in.