Online dating scams are becoming increasingly common, concerning people of all ages and cities. There have been several cases of false identity or narrative on dating sites, resulting in unexpected and often costly situations. Recently, a Reddit user claims his Tinder date turned into a costly nightmare when he was forced to pay a cafe bill of more than Rs 50,000.
The post that reads, “TINDER SCAM, [PSA] Got scammed on a Tinder date – beware of cafes running scams in Karkardooma (Delhi),” quickly went viral with over 3,500 upvotes and 1,400+ comments, sparking a larger conversation around dating app safety.
According to the user, he matched with someone on Tinder and agreed to meet at a cafe in Karkardooma, located on the second floor of Chawla’s building near a metro station. Initially, everything felt normal. However, once seated, the staff allegedly encouraged him to order expensive items only. They didn’t even show him a proper menu, and kept pushing for more.
By the end of the evening, he was handed a shocking bill exceeding Rs 50,000 for food and drinks. To back his claim, the Redditor even shared a photo of the receipt, calling the incident a well-planned scam.
This is not the only case. The viral post encouraged others to share similar experiences. One commenter recounted a case in Kolkata, where a student was charged Rs 35,000 for items he never ordered. The matter reached the consumer court, which ruled in his favour, awarding him Rs 75,000 compensation while fining the restaurant Rs 1.5 lakh.
With dating apps like Tinder, Bumble, and Hinge seeing growing adoption in India, scammers are exploiting the users. Many Redditors warned that shady cafes near metro stations may be involved with fake dating profiles to lure people and charge them with inflated bills.