Online Fraud in Bengaluru: Woman Falls Victim to Online Scam, Duped by Fake Marine Engineer on Matrimonial Site

Fraud case has been registered in Karnataka Bengaluru, where a woman seeking marriage on a matrimonial site was allegedly duped by a fraudster to the tune of 8.21 lakh. The victim, a 43-year-old artist, reportedly lost the money after she fell prey to a fraudster who posed as a marine engineer on a popular matrimonial app. As per the reports of Hindustan Times, the victim is Mylasandara in Kengeri, Bengaluru.

A woman filed a complaint after registering on Shaadi.com in April to find a life partner. On April 12, she received a marriage proposal from a man named Ajay Agarwal, who claimed to be a marine engineer. After exchanging numbers, she was charmed by their conversations and accepted his proposal. Agarwal told her he was traveling from the U.S. to Mumbai on a ship.

More than a month later, he messaged her about a pirate attack that forced his ship to dock at a nearby port. He then asked for her help to retrieve his belongings, allegedly sent through a logistics company, and she shared her address. Shortly after, she received a call from someone claiming to be from the logistics company, demanding INR 2.63 lakh for document delivery. Trusting Agarwal, she transferred the money, which he promised to repay.

However, her payments increased, and she eventually sent a total of INR 8.21 lakh in multiple installments from her accounts and those of family members. The victim realized she had been scammed when Agarwal stopped responding to her messages and quickly reported the incident to the Cyber Crime Police.