Dating App Scam in Mumbai: 65-Year-Old Woman Allegedly Duped of INR 1.3 Crore by Fraudster Pretending to be Engineer from U.S.

A 65-year-old woman from Mumbai has reportedly been swindled out of ₹1.3 crore by a con artist posing as an American engineer on the dating app 'International Cupid'. She received calls from individuals impersonating representatives of several financial organizations, including the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), and the International Monetary Fund (IMF), all of which turned out to be fraudulent. The Cyber Police have registered an FIR regarding this incident. The victim, a homemaker, met a man named Paul Rutherford on the dating app in April 2023. Rutherford claimed to be an American civil engineer working in the Philippines. After developing a friendship, he told her about an accident on his construction site that led to legal trouble, stating he needed money to avoid arrest and deportation back to the US. Between April and June 2023, she sent him money in the form of bitcoins, with Rutherford assuring her that he would repay her.

In June, she received a call from a woman named Priya Sharma, who claimed to be an official at Delhi airport. Sharma informed her that customs had confiscated a parcel containing $2 million. Following Sharma's instructions, the woman paid various sums to cover government charges for the parcel's release over the next few months.In January of this year, she received a call from someone claiming to be a Bank of America employee in New Delhi. He informed her that the $2 million from the confiscated parcel had been transferred to the bank and even sent her an ATM card in her name. It was later discovered that the card was fake. Subsequently, she received calls from two women impersonating officials from the RBI and IMF, who sent her a letter on official letterhead stating that her American dollars would be converted to Indian currency, promising her ₹17 crore in her bank account.

On May 6, two men claiming to be from NPCI contacted her, assuring her that all the money she had paid would be refunded, but that she needed to pay fees upfront. Additionally, a "banker" from a prominent private bank called, requesting payment for "intercity charges" related to the funds she was supposedly set to receive. By June 2024, the complainant had paid a total of ₹1.3 crore to the fraudsters. In her police complaint, she noted that they continued to call her demanding more money, and she is now checking her bank records to determine if she transferred any additional funds beyond the ₹1.3 crore. The Cyber Police are currently investigating the matter further.