NRI on matrimonial site turns out to be a conman
A 45-year-old medical practitioner was tricked out of over ₹22 lakh by someone posing as an NRI ophthalmologist on a matrimonial app.
The scammer, calling himself Dr. Ganesh Barman from Berlin, built trust with the victim starting December 2025 and asked her to transfer money to his "agents" in India after claiming his international bank account was non-functional.
She realized it was a scam and reported it to the Cyber Crime Helpline 1930 and a complaint was registered with the East Division Cyber Crime Police.
Fraudster's story and police investigation
The fraudster spun a detailed story about being divorced, having a young daughter in boarding school, and moving to India soon for work.
After shifting their chats to WhatsApp, he claimed his bank account was frozen and asked her to send money through UPI and bank transfers—over ₹22 lakh went out before she caught on.
Police are investigating now.
Sadly, scams like this are becoming more common; reports show a year-over-year increase of over 200% in matrimonial frauds targeting women, and losses have exceeded ₹500 crore nationwide.