A viral post says Bengaluru men on dating apps are being asked to prepay a cab that does not exist. Here is the pattern and why a screenshot proves nothing.
A post on X is warning that men in Bengaluru are being tricked into paying for cab rides that were never booked. The user @CitizenKamran says the targets are matched through Tinder and Bumble. The claims are unverified, but the pattern is simple enough to spot.
According to the post, the match agrees to meet but first asks the man to pay for her cab. Then she says she does not trust him and asks him to pay the driver in advance. The post alleges there is no real booking. The scammer edits the fare, the driver's name and other details so the screenshot looks genuine. Once the money is sent, she blocks him.
The screenshots in the post show a WhatsApp chat starting at 10:34 p.m. The man offers to pay her by UPI, and she refuses. She says her bank does not work at night most of the time. She then sends a driver's QR code. Later messages show a single tick, meaning they were not delivered. His call went unanswered.
The material does not say how many men were hit, how much money was lost, or whether police are involved. The screenshots have not been independently checked. A separate NDTV Profit report describes a Bengaluru man who lost Rs 27,200 to a Tinder match, though that is a different case.
Anyone who stays off dating apps, or never sends money to people they have not met, is unlikely to be caught by this one. Cyber-safety advisories say to check payments through the ride-hailing app itself. The alert box above lists the steps, including where to report fraud.
A match you have not met who asks you to prepay a cab is a red flag, and a cab screenshot is not proof of anything.
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