Trapped by an AI profile: Dating app scam leaves young man blackmailed and broke

A 26-year-old man was lured through a dating app by an AI-generated woman, forced into an explicit video call, and blackmailed into paying ₹1.53 lakh before approaching police.

A new and disturbing form of cybercrime has come to light, where artificial intelligence was used to trap and extort a young man through a dating app. A 26-year-old youth has fallen victim to an AI-powered dating scam, losing over ₹1.5 lakh after being blackmailed with explicit video recordings.

According to police, the victim had created a profile on the dating application Happn with the intention of meeting new people. Soon after, he received a friend request from a profile named “Ishani,” who appeared to be a young woman. Believing the profile to be genuine, the man accepted the request.

Over time, the conversation moved from the app to private chats, and the two exchanged mobile numbers. The chats became increasingly personal, with discussions involving private matters, further building the victim’s trust.

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A few days later, the victim received a video call from Ishani’s number. During the call, the woman appeared nude and encouraged him to remove his clothes as well. Trusting her and unaware of any danger, the man complied.

What the victim did not know was that the entire video interaction was being recorded by the fraudsters. Soon after the call ended, the accused sent screenshots and video clips of the man’s nude visuals to him.

The victim was then threatened that the explicit content would be circulated to his contacts if he did not pay money. Fearing public humiliation, the man began transferring money as demanded. In total, the accused extorted ₹1.53 lakh from him in multiple stages.

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When the demands for more money continued, the victim finally gathered courage and approached the Central CEN police station. He lodged a formal complaint detailing the entire sequence of events.

During preliminary investigation, police confirmed that the woman seen in the video call was not a real person but an AI-generated image used to carry out the crime. The case has now been registered, and police have launched a search operation to trace and arrest the accused involved in the scam.