COIMBATORE: The matrimonial scam has emerged as one of the most significant cyber frauds, with scammers targeting unmarried men over the age of 40. Coimbatore district has reported more than 50 such complaints this year, police said.
In Coimbatore Rural, 25 complaints have been registered regarding the matrimonial scam. Similarly, around 30 complaints were registered in the city's cybercrime wing as well, according to the police.
Explaining the modus operandi, the District Cybercrime Inspector K Kavitha said the scammers use women to lure unmarried men, and these women bring victims with the promise of matrimonial proposals. They then maintain a virtual relationship for several months, during which the victims are mentally prepared for marriage and encouraged to save money as well. Subsequently, the scammer suggests an investment plan and persuades the victim to invest in it.
"Despite being a scam, this process takes considerable time, during which the victim develops hope of marrying the woman. After the scam, victims suffer not only financial loss but also significant mental distress caused by the breakup of the relationship. Unmarried men should remain cautious of such scams," the officer said.
"On most matrimonial sites, those looking for a partner disclose everything like age, educational qualification, salary and property details, making it easy for scammers. On many sites, these details are available for free, the officer added.
According to the Coimbatore District (Rural) Cybercrime police, 118 cybercrime cases have been registered in the last 9 months, of which 100 cases were registered in the last three months alone. 25 persons have been arrested and around Rs 2.10 crore has been recovered so far. Meanwhile, a total of 4,360 cybercrime complaints have been received this year with a total loss of around Rs 9 crore.
"Normally, a case is registered only when the loss mentioned in the complaint is more than Rs 5 lakh. But for the last two months, FIRs are being registered even if the loss is around Rs 1 lakh", said Inspector K Kavitha.
Elaborating on the cybercrimes reported in large numbers, the inspector said 216 complaints have been received regarding fake online trading, followed by 200 complaints regarding online job scams.
Apart from this, 36 schp scams, 36 digital arrest complaints, 34 KYC update scams, 39 APK file scams and 25 fake customer care complaints have been registered this year.
