"Rent a Boyfriend" ad takes your booking fee and vanishes — you never meet anyone
Fake 'rent a boyfriend' ads on Instagram, Facebook, and Telegram use AI-generated or stolen photos to lure women. After collecting a booking fee (₹499–₹4,499), the scammer vanishes and blocks the victim. Personal data shared may enable future blackmail.
Also known as: rent a boyfriend scam, paid companionship fraud India, fake boyfriend for hire scam, discount dating 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 send any payment in advance to someone you have never met — legitimate companionship or social agencies require in-person verification first
- 2 Reverse-image-search any profile photo before engaging — tools like Google Images or TinEye reveal stolen or AI-generated pictures in seconds
- 3 Do not share Aadhaar, PAN, phone number, or home address with an unverified online profile — this data can be used for targeted blackmail
- 4 If you have already paid, note the UPI ID, phone number, and screenshots of the conversation and file a complaint immediately
- 5 If the scammer has private photos or messages and is threatening to share them, contact the cyber cell immediately — do not pay any ransom
- 6 Report at https://cybercrime.gov.in or call 1930 (national cyber helpline).
Red flags
- ⚠ The profile photo looks too polished — reverse-image-search it; AI-generated or stolen photos come up on other sites
- ⚠ Packages are priced and listed on Telegram or social media (₹499 coffee, ₹1,249 movie, ₹4,499 full day) — no registered business details anywhere
- ⚠ They ask for a booking fee, security deposit, or advance payment via UPI or QR code before you have met them
- ⚠ No physical address, no phone number you can call independently, only a WhatsApp or Telegram handle
- ⚠ Urgency: 'slots are filling fast,' 'book now to confirm' — pressure to pay before thinking it through
- ⚠ After payment, the contact blocks you or stops responding
Sources
- Hyderabad Police Commissioner VC Sajjanar — Warning about 'Rent a Boyfriend' scam on social media (August 8, 2026)
- Dynamite News — Cyber Scam Alert: 'Rent-a-Boyfriend' Offers Trapping Young Women in Hyderabad (August 2026)
- Punjab Kesari — 'Rent a Boyfriend' new online fraud, police warning (August 2026)
- AajTak — 'Rent a Boyfriend' new cyber fraud on social media, Hyderabad Police Commissioner warns women (August 8, 2026)
- CyberPeace — The 'Rent Boyfriend' Trap: Inside India's Newest Loneliness-Targeted Cyber Scam
- News Mobile — Hyderabad 'Rent-a-Boyfriend' Ads Turn Out to Be Cyber Scam, Police Warn Women