Bengaluru Men Use AI To Pose As Woman On Dating App, Extort Rs 1.5 Lakh

Fraudsters allegedly used artificial intelligence to pose as a young woman on a dating app and extorted more than Rs 1.5 lakh from a 26-year-old man in Bengaluru.

The victim, a resident of Ejipura working in a private company, has lodged a complaint at the Central Crime Branch CEN Police Station.

According to the complaint, the youth created a profile on a dating app on January 5. Soon after, he received a friend request from a woman identifying herself as Ishani.

The two began chatting, gradually sharing personal details, and later exchanged mobile numbers to continue conversations privately.

A few days later, the woman initiated a video call and allegedly appeared nude on camera. She then asked the victim to remove his clothes as well. Unaware of the trap, the youth complied. The fraudsters secretly recorded the explicit video during the call.

Soon after, the accused sent the private video clips to the victim via WhatsApp and threatened to share them with his family, friends and on social media platforms unless money was paid.

Fearing public humiliation, the victim initially transferred Rs 60,000 and later Rs 93,000 to bank accounts provided by the accused.

When the fraudsters continued to demand more money, the victim approached the police and filed a complaint.

During preliminary investigation, police found that the dating profile was fake and had been created using AI.

Investigators also suspect the nude woman seen during the video call was an AI-generated figure, not a real person.

Police have registered a case and further investigation is underway to identify and nab the cybercriminals.