Social media
Dating and matrimony chats that ask for money
A new match who needs money, or who moves you to a trading app, has a script. Do not send money to someone you have not met.
The profile is warm and replies quickly. Soon the chat moves off the dating or matrimony app, onto WhatsApp or Telegram, where the site can no longer see the messages. Then comes a crisis, a gift, a visa fee, or an investment that “cannot lose.”
Patterns to recognise
They avoid a live meeting and avoid a normal phone call to a number you can save and call back.
A video call is short, strange, or refused after you ask a simple question. A recording can stand in for a person.
The story needs money today: a hospital, a customs hold, a ticket, or a trading balance you must fund so both of you can profit.
They ask for private photos early, then the tone changes. That is blackmail, and paying does not end it.
Do not send money, card photos, OTPs, or private images to someone you have not met. If you already sent money, stop and call 1930. If they are threatening to share a photo, save the chat, block them, and do not pay.
If money has already left your account, call 1930 or report at cybercrime.gov.in. This page is awareness information. It does not file a complaint.