What are the red flags of this scam?

Your match on a dating app insists on meeting at a specific high-end restaurant, bar, or pub you have never heard of — not a neutral public place you chose • The woman orders multiple rounds of alcohol, expensive dishes, or hookah without asking you — spending seems designed to run up the bill • She leaves the table suddenly (bathroom, phone call, family emergency) and does not return • The bill is far higher than the food consumed could justify — inflated line items for items you did not order • Staff become aggressive or hostile when you question the bill; a bouncer blocks the exit or threatens physical harm • The person's profile photo is unusually polished or appears to be a stock image

What should I do if this happened to me?

Do not pay an inflated or suspicious bill under pressure — call 112 (police emergency) if you feel physically threatened inside a venue • Before any first date from a dating app, choose a mutual, public location you both agree on — never the venue your match insists on • Take a photo or screenshot of the bill and the venue signage before paying anything, so you have evidence if you need to file a complaint • Note the name, phone number, and profile of the person from the dating app and report the profile as fake on the platform • If you paid under duress, file a complaint at the nearest police station or online at the National Cyber Crime portal • Report at https://cybercrime.gov.in or call 1930 (national cyber helpline).

HIGH romance Last reported: 25 Oct 2026 Share

Dating app match suggests a "nice place," orders big, vanishes — you pay the ₹30,000 bill

Q: Is this a scam?

Yes. This is a documented scam pattern. A fake profile on Tinder, Bumble, or Hinge lures a man to a specific upscale restaurant or bar, orders expensive food and drinks, then slips away. He is handed an inflated ₹15,000–₹50,000 bill; venue staff or bouncers threaten him if he refuses to pay.

A fake profile on Tinder, Bumble, or Hinge lures a man to a specific upscale restaurant or bar, orders expensive food and drinks, then slips away. He is handed an inflated ₹15,000–₹50,000 bill; venue staff or bouncers threaten him if he refuses to pay.

Also known as: dating app restaurant bill scam, Tinder date bar bill fraud India, dating scam inflated bill India, swipe right pay the price scam

Already happened to you? Do this in the next few minutes

Call 1930 now

1 Call 1930 — the national cyber-crime helpline — right now. The sooner you report, the better the chance of freezing the money before it moves.
2 Call your bank to freeze the account and block the card immediately. Use the number printed on your card, never a number from the message or caller.
3 File a report at cybercrime.gov.in and keep every message, screenshot, and transaction ID.

What to do right now

1 Do not pay an inflated or suspicious bill under pressure — call 112 (police emergency) if you feel physically threatened inside a venue
2 Before any first date from a dating app, choose a mutual, public location you both agree on — never the venue your match insists on
3 Take a photo or screenshot of the bill and the venue signage before paying anything, so you have evidence if you need to file a complaint
4 Note the name, phone number, and profile of the person from the dating app and report the profile as fake on the platform
5 If you paid under duress, file a complaint at the nearest police station or online at the National Cyber Crime portal
6 Report at https://cybercrime.gov.in or call 1930 (national cyber helpline).

Red flags

⚠ Your match on a dating app insists on meeting at a specific high-end restaurant, bar, or pub you have never heard of — not a neutral public place you chose
⚠ The woman orders multiple rounds of alcohol, expensive dishes, or hookah without asking you — spending seems designed to run up the bill
⚠ She leaves the table suddenly (bathroom, phone call, family emergency) and does not return
⚠ The bill is far higher than the food consumed could justify — inflated line items for items you did not order
⚠ Staff become aggressive or hostile when you question the bill; a bouncer blocks the exit or threatens physical harm
⚠ The person's profile photo is unusually polished or appears to be a stock image

Already happened to you? Do this in the next few minutes

What to do right now

Red flags

Sources