Retiree looking for daughter-in-law on matrimony app cheated of Rs 18 lakh

Bengaluru: A retiree looking for a match for his son online was duped into "investing in gold" by unknown people who impersonated a woman. Over three days, Shankar R (name changed) was conned of Rs 17.68 lakh. 

Shankar, 69, a resident of RR Nagar in western Bengaluru, told the police that earlier in November, he had created his son’s profile on the Bharath Matrimony portal and uploaded his biodata. 

On November 12, his son’s profile was matched with Anika Verma, a fake profile used by the perpetrators. Anika introduced herself and initiated a conversation, the police found. 

She allegedly told Shankar that she was a fashion designer based in Dubai and originally from Mumbai. The conversation then moved to WhatsApp after numbers were exchanged. 

Here, Shankar told the police that Anika told him about her "other" business where she invested and traded in gold. 

After agreeing to a proposal, Anika began engaging Shankar in a conversation about the benefits of investing in gold, as per the FIR. 

"She (Anika) told me that if we invested in gold through her, we would receive great gains in the short term and she would also help my son purchase a house," Kumar told the police. 

Between November 12 and 15, Shankar sent Anika Rs 17,68,000 through multiple bank transfers. 

"The money was sent to a UCO Bank account and an ICICI Bank account,” a police investigator said. “We have registered a case and launched an investigation."