Kolkata Police have arrested a couple and unveiled a dating app racket operating in the city and surrounding areas.

One of the accused is a restaurant manager and his accomplice, a young woman, created fake profiles on popular dating sites like Boo and Tinder to catfish unsuspecting suitors.

“They would target specific individuals on the app, befriend them. Once the courtship progressed and a level of trust established, the female would suggest a dinner at the restaurant where her accomplice worked,” said a senior police officer of the cybercrime branch. “Once the victim was honey-trapped they would extort money through various means including inflated bills.”

The cybercrime branch is trying to find out the total victims the duo had entrapped and the money they raised using various nefarious means.

“We suspect there could be more people involved in the racket. The two are being interrogated,” an officer said.

Online dating scam describes attempts to manipulate an individual’s vulnerabilities by establishing a romantic and sexual relationship. Once the victim is in their trap shared photographs and texts are used to blackmail the victim.

“The victims get blindsided by their emotions and want to fulfil every wish of the other person without realising they are bleeding money. By the time they become aware it is already too late,” said a police officer.

The fake profile created could be either of a man or a woman and the targets are from both the genders.

Cybersecurity experts say one of the steps people with fake profiles use is quick expression of love and at the same time avoiding a meeting.

“If a person you have met online keeps giving excuses to meet in person, then most likely he or she is not who they are claiming to be,” said a police officer.

The cops advise those new to the dating apps to make a reverse image search of the person they have started dating online.

“Those running dating scam rackets keep making new profiles. Those interested in online dating should be wary of new profiles,” said an officer.

Sextortion racket started in Rajasthan’s Bharatpur and has since spread to different parts of the country including Kolkata. Some of the cybercriminals arrested in other cities either trace their roots to Bharatpur or were trained by those running sextortion rackets in the Rajasthan town.

“While chatting online personal details should not be shared. Most of these times most of the scammers are targeting multiple victims, and it can become difficult for them to keep track of their stories. Look for the loopholes” said an officer.