Mumbai: Interior Designer Duped of Nearly ₹10 Lakh in Online Love Scam

Amid the rising incidents of cybercrime in the digital era, a shocking case has come to light from Mumbai, where a 31-year-old interior designer was allegedly trapped in an online romance scam and cheated of nearly ₹10 lakh. The victim had never met the accused woman in person nor knew her real identity, but emotional manipulation and fear of social humiliation forced him to borrow money and transfer funds to her. Following the complaint, Vinoba Bhave Nagar Police have registered a case and launched an investigation.

According to the police, the victim, a resident of Kurla West, came across a link while surfing the internet on his mobile phone on November 4, 2025. Clicking on the link redirected him to a website displaying photographs, names and WhatsApp contact links of several women. After clicking on one such link, a WhatsApp chat window opened and an automatic message in English was sent. Soon, a reply was received and a conversation began.

The woman introduced herself as “Natasha” and initially demanded an advance payment of ₹500, stating that she charged ₹3,500 per hour for a meeting. She sent a QR code, following which the victim transferred the amount via UPI. Thereafter, on the pretext of ill health, travel expenses and other excuses, she repeatedly demanded money. The amounts gradually increased from ₹500, ₹600 and ₹1,000 to several thousand rupees, while assuring the victim of a meeting that never took place.

Within a few days, the narrative took a dramatic turn. The accused allegedly called the victim in tears, claiming that her father had suffered a heart attack and was hospitalised in Delhi. She sought financial help and took ₹10,500 from him. Subsequently, she narrated a series of tragic stories — her father’s death, hospital bills, funeral expenses, fourth-day rituals, her mother’s illness and later her mother’s death — to extort more money.

The woman also claimed that a house in her village was being transferred in her name and that once sold, she would receive ₹2 crore, from which she would repay the entire amount. However, when the victim expressed his inability to send more money, the accused allegedly threatened to send their WhatsApp chats to his wife and file a false molestation case against him. Fearing social and familial disgrace, the victim borrowed money from relatives and friends and continued making payments.

As per the complaint, between November 4 and December 8, 2025, the accused siphoned off a total of ₹9,98,850 from the victim on various dates. After exhausting his savings, the victim finally disclosed the incident to his younger brother, who advised him to approach the police. Acting on the complaint filed on December 15, Vinoba Bhave Nagar Police have registered an offence under relevant sections related to cyber fraud, cheating and criminal intimidation, and further investigation is underway.