Bengaluru man alleges dating-app match led to payment scam

A Bengaluru man has alleged that a planned meeting with a dating-app match ended with him making an online payment for a package and buying cigarettes before the two people involved stopped responding.

In a social-media post, he said he had spoken for several days with a woman he identified as Shelly and arranged to meet when he was free from work. Before the meeting, he said, she asked him to collect a package from a person called Ron and make an online payment, saying she would reimburse him in cash because her mother’s business dealt more in cash.

He said he travelled to the location given by Ron, who told him the package was being prepared and asked for payment while he waited. The man wrote that he was initially hesitant but paid. He said Shelly then asked him to buy cigarettes because she had forgotten to order them.

After that, he said neither Shelly nor Ron replied to his messages or calls. He alleged that the pair had coordinated the requests to take his money.

The claims stem from the man’s account on social media and have not been independently verified. A commenter also said they had spoken with a person named Shelly on Bumble earlier, but that claim was likewise unverified.