Scam guide
Romance Scams on Chat and Dating Apps: Signs and What to Do
By the Bakkar team ·
A romance scam is a long con. Someone builds a relationship with you over days or weeks, often with more warmth than anyone in your real life, and then a money problem appears that only you can solve.
How it usually goes
- Love bombing. Constant attention, compliments, "I've never felt this way". Often a profile that looks a little too perfect.
- Moving off the app. They want WhatsApp or Telegram fast, where nobody moderates them and you can't report them to the app you met on.
- Reasons they can't meet or video call. Posted abroad, on a ship, a broken camera, a sick parent.
- The ask. A medical bill, a customs fee, a stuck payment, a ticket to finally come and see you. Small at first, then bigger.
Example messages, written by us from reported patterns. Each one has been checked against the rule Bakkar applies to a first message.
you're honestly the most real person I've met online. can we talk on whatsapp? 98765 43210
Bakkar holds this back as a first messagei'm stuck at the airport, my card isn't working. can you help me with 8000, I'll return it tomorrow
Bakkar would deliver this
Red flags
- Intense feelings very early, before you've met.
- Every plan to meet or video call falls through.
- Any request for money, a gift card, a recharge, or your bank or UPI details.
- Their story has details that don't add up when you ask a second time.
What Bakkar does, and what it can't
A stranger's first message to you on Bakkar can't contain a phone number, link or handle, and they can send only one message until you reply (see why). That stops the fast move to WhatsApp. It can't stop a patient scammer who chats nicely for a week and then asks for money in plain words, like the second example. That part is on you, and the rule is simple: never send money to someone you've only met online, however real it feels.
What to do
- Stop replying. You don't owe a scammer an explanation.
- Don't pay. Paying once never ends it; it tells them you will pay again.
- Save the evidence before you block: screenshots of the profile, the chat, any numbers, UPI IDs or links they sent.
- Report and block them on Bakkar from the chat or their profile. See what happens when you report.
- Lost money? Call 1930 at once. The national cybercrime helpline can ask banks to freeze the money while it is still moving, so the first hours matter. Then file the complaint at cybercrime.gov.in.
- Tell someone you trust. Scams work best on people who feel alone with them. If it's weighing on you, Tele MANAS on 14416 is free and open 24x7.
