Searching for a groom' - the new shorthand for financial trap

RAJEEV KUMAR (name changed), a resident of Edavanakkad in Kochi, was searching for a life partner when he, heeding the advice of his relatives, decided to open an account on a matrimonial site.

- ABDUL NAZER M A

RAJEEV KUMAR (name changed), a resident of Edavanakkad in Kochi, was searching for a life partner when he, heeding the advice of his relatives, decided to open an account on a matrimonial site. There, after carefully reviewing several profiles, he sent requests to a few women that matched his preferences. Only to be met mostly with silence.

It was during this phase that he received a request from a woman named Sruthy. She introduced herself as a Bengaluru-based professional working in the UK. Impressed by her profile pictures and warm responses, Rajeev gradually developed a friendship with her.

As their conversations grew frequent, trust too deepened. Moreover, she expressed her heartfelt desire to be with him forever and promised marriage.

However, this was all part of an elaborate financial fraud and the so-called 'Sruthy' was a man posing as a woman. With a promise of marriage, he intended to loot unsuspecting victims on the matrimonial site and Rajeev was his latest prey.