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The restaurant bills show large amounts that men paid on dates. (Image credit: X)
A journalist published a series of tweets accusing a Mumbai restaurant of cheating men by setting them up with fake dates.
While swiping right on dating apps may seem like the “right thing to do,” many are unaware that they are engaging in sinister schemes “that are carefully planned to defraud men looking for partners.” Dating app scams have been on the rise in India recently. People create fake profiles and lure people into expensive traps to take advantage of their emotions and trust. Journalist Deepika Narayan Bhardwaj recently exposed these scams and revealed how a Mumbai restaurant was part of the plot.
The Godfather Club in the Indian state of Mumbai, Andheri West, has come under fire following Bhardwaj’s viral post on social media. According to the post, the scam begins on popular dating apps like Tinder, Bumble, Hinge and OKCupid, where men are invited on dates to the chosen location, often the restaurant in question.
After the meeting, the women deliberately order expensive dishes that are not on the menu, spend some time with the dates and leave abruptly. However, the worst comes later as the men are left with nothing but bills of up to Rs 61,000. Bhardwaj even shared pictures of the restaurant bills in her post.
She exposed the dating scam at the Mumbai restaurant, adding that 12 victims were in contact while three men were duped by the same girl and paid bills ranging from Rs 23,000 to Rs 61,000. The traps are usually set through Tinder and Bumble. In the following tweets, Bhardwaj explained how the scam works. People are initially contacted through the dating app and then pressured into quick meetings at specific places, particularly the Godfather.
At the first meeting, the girl orders drinks, shisha, liquor and other things without showing the other person the menu. Within an hour, he receives a large bill and the girl disappears. Left with no other choice, the guys are forced to pay the money or face being beaten up by the bouncers.
Bhardwaj mentioned that many people have posted about their experiences with the alleged scam and also stated that the Mumbai Police have not taken any action yet. “Exact same stories posted by hundreds of men but @MumbaiPolice @CPMumbaiPolice seem to be dozing. Happening right under the nose of Bandra Police but they don’t bother to investigate even after victims lodged formal complaints last time I exposed other clubs,” she wrote.
Her post sparked a heated debate online as similar incidents were reported from other major cities such as Delhi, Bengaluru, Gurugram and Hyderabad.
