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DINE AND DASH
‘Every time the bill would come, she would rush to the washroom’
Going on a date just for a free meal is quite common these days, says Bharat*, who works with an IT firm in Delhi. He adds, “After I met a fashion designer on a dating app, we went out on a few dates. Every time the bill would come after a meal, she would either rush to the washroom or ignore it. Even when we used to hang out at my place, I always ended up paying for the food. Once when I asked her to bring drinks for a night out, she didn’t show up! Not just that, she blocked me, too.”
‘She came to the venue early and ate with her friend, while I ended up paying the bill’
Make sure you split the bill before your date goes to the washroom, warns Siddharth, a Kolkata-based businessman. He shares, “I went on a date with this girl I met on a dating app. She came to the venue early and was already having starters and cocktails when I arrived. An hour later, she asked the waiter for the bill and went to the washroom. The bill was `10,000. It left me shocked. On asking, the hotel’s staff informed me that she had come there with a friend, who left a few minutes before I reached there. That was when I realised that I had been scammed. She never returned to the table, and I never saw her again.”
SOB STORYTELLER
‘He said that he will return the money, but blocked me when I asked for it’
These scammers sometimes weave believable stories involving pleas for help, claiming that they are in a crisis. Sakshi*, a consultant at an IT firm in Delhi, experienced the same. She shares, “I met this guy on a dating app six months back. We decided to exchange numbers and used to have long conversations on video calls. It felt real. But after a few days, he started replying late. When asked, he told me that he was facing some financial issues and was working as a part-time cab driver alongside his job. I believed him and offered help. One day, he narrated a sob story and asked for ₹5,000, saying he would return it. I gave that amount. After a few days, he asked for another ₹2,000. I gave him that, too. The next morning, I saw that he had blocked me everywhere. When I look back now, there were a few red flags but I ignored them.”
‘He told me that he was struggling to pay rent’
A still from Tinder Swindler
Dating apps have plenty of storyteller scammers, says Aarushi*, a Mumbai-based journalist. She shares, “Recently, a struggling actor, who was also in Splitsvilla, messaged me on a dating app. He came across as a nice guy. We spoke for a few weeks and soon became good friends. He would often tell me that he was going through a financial crisis and was struggling to pay his rent. One day, he asked me to help him with₹30,000. I asked him to reach out to his parents. He said that his parents, who were in Haryana, didn’t know how to transfer money digitally and started pleading, but I ignored it. That evening, he called me and asked me to give him at least ₹20,000. I refused and blocked him. No matter what, one should never transfer money to strangers on these apps.”
THE DISTRESSED SHOPPER
‘All her cards stopped working suddenly’
Sweetheart scammers don’t always ask for money, sometimes they go on a shopping spree with you and mysteriously their cards stop working. Parth*, who is a corporate employee from Gurgaon, had to pay a hefty amount when his date’s debit cards “suddenly stopped working” at a mall. “Our first date was at a five-star hotel, and I footed the bill. She seemed genuine, so I didn’t mind paying on the first date. Our second date was at a mall in Saket. There, she shopped for herself and for me, too. When we went to the billing counter, two of her cards got rejected. She was almost in tears and told me that one of the dresses was a limited edition and that she really wanted to buy it. I felt bad seeing her like that and paid the bill of₹6,000. By the time I reached home, she had blocked me. I tried contacting her from my friend’s phone, but she blocked him, too,” he shares.
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