Bhiwandi woman duped of 9.17 lakh by fake UK groom in matrimonial cyber fraud
A woman and her family from Bhiwandi were duped of ₹9.17 lakh in a matrimonial cyber fraud after fraudsters posed as a United Kingdom-based prospective groom. The Bhoiwada Police in Bhiwandi City registered a case after the fraudsters lured the victim with false promises of marriage and expensive gold jewellery, eventually claiming the groom was detained at an airport.
According to the FIR registered by the Bhiwandi City Bhoiwada Police, the victim had created a profile on a matrimonial website to search for a match. On June 15, 2026, an unidentified caller contacted the family, claiming to have found the profile and introducing a man allegedly employed in the UK as a prospective groom.
To gain the family's trust, the accused shared the man's profile and photographs via WhatsApp. They also sent images of gold ornaments that the groom had supposedly purchased for the bride to make the proposal look genuine.
The fraudsters initially persuaded the victim to transfer ₹16,000 for the delivery of the jewellery. Two days later, they contacted her again, claiming the prospective groom had been detained by customs authorities at an Indian airport with the gold ornaments. They insisted that immediate payments were required to secure his release and avoid legal action.
Fearing the marriage proposal would collapse, the victim transferred money repeatedly on June 16 and June 17. She made 41 separate bank transactions into multiple accounts across ICICI Bank, State Bank of India, Bank of Baroda, and Bank of Maharashtra, totaling ₹9.17 lakh.
The family became suspicious when the accused continued to demand more money under various pretexts while the alleged groom remained unreachable. Realising they had fallen victim to a scam, they approached the local police.
The Bhoiwada Police have registered a case against unidentified persons under Sections 66(C) and 66(D) of the Information Technology Act, alongside Sections 318(4) and 319(2) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS). Investigators are currently tracing the bank accounts, digital transactions, and electronic evidence to identify the cyber fraud syndicate.
