28-year-old man loses ₹1.9 lakh to online dating scam involving emotional manipulation and UPI transfers

Summary

A 28-year-old man from Hyderabad lost ₹1.9 lakh in an online dating scam involving emotional manipulation and impersonation. He met a woman identifying herself as Madugula Saranya on June 3 through the dating app Chat Zozo. Saranya claimed to be an orphan in urgent need of money and convinced the victim to transfer ₹95,000 to various UPI IDs. When he requested repayment, she cited banking issues and later introduced a man named Subhash, who promised to help recover the money. The victim transferred another ₹95,000 to UPI accounts provided by Subhash, who claimed the funds were tied up in betting. By June 26, the victim had lost a total of ₹1.9 lakh and filed a complaint at the Cyber Crime Police Station.