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The dating app cafe bill scam: how it works and how to stay safe

In this scam a dating app match insists on one particular cafe, bar or club, orders expensive items without you seeing the menu, then leaves, and staff present a bill for tens of thousands of rupees or more, sometimes with threats if you refuse. Police in Delhi and Hyderabad have arrested groups that ran it with the venue's owners. You can avoid it by choosing the place yourself, checking menu prices before anything is ordered, and calling the police on 112 if anyone stops you leaving.
A red drink with ice, lemon slices and a straw on a wooden cafe table
Photo: Pexels on Pixabay

Before a first date with an app match

Tap each one as you check it.

How the cafe bill scam works

You match with someone attractive who wants to meet quickly, often “for my birthday” or “I just moved here”. They choose the venue. Once you are there, they order drinks and dishes without a menu in front of you, and after a short while they leave for an emergency or a phone call.

Then the bill arrives, far above what the food could cost. If you dispute it, the staff become threatening. The match, the people who ran the profile and the venue share the money.

Example. Names and numbers are made up.

Cases police have reported

In June 2024 Delhi Police arrested a cafe co-owner and a woman after a civil services aspirant who met her on Tinder was handed a bill of ₹1,21,917.70 at a cafe on Vikas Marg. When he disputed it he was threatened, confined and made to pay online. Police said staff ran fake dating profiles to lure men there, and that the money was split between the woman, the managers and the owners.

The same month, Madhapur police in Hyderabad arrested seven people over a pub where, they said, 50 to 60 men had been made to pay inflated bills over about six weeks. Police said the group had run the same scheme in Delhi and Bengaluru.

Delhi Police said social stigma stops many victims from reporting this. Reporting it helps police find the venue and the people behind the profiles.

How to keep a first date safe

Warning signs

  • They insist on one venue and will not change
  • They want to meet within a day or two
  • They order before you arrive or without a menu
  • The place is a club or lounge you cannot find reviews for
  • They leave suddenly and the bill comes at once

Safer first dates

  • You suggest a busy cafe you already know
  • You agree a time and stick to a short first meeting
  • You see the menu and prices before ordering
  • You order and pay for your own items as you go
  • A friend knows where you are and when to call

If a bill is clearly wrong, ask for the itemised bill and the menu. If you are threatened or stopped from leaving, call the police on 112 from where you are, rather than paying first and complaining later.

If it already happened

  1. Keep the bill, your payment receipt, the venue's name and address, and the time.
  2. Screenshot the match's profile and your chats before they are deleted or the profile disappears.
  3. Report the profile to the dating app from the chat or the profile menu.
  4. File a complaint at the local police station, or on 1930 and cybercrime.gov.in if you paid online.
  5. If you paid by card, call your card issuer and ask whether you can dispute the charge.
  • Call 1930The national cyber fraud helpline. Call within hours if money left your account.
  • cybercrime.gov.inFile a complaint online and keep the acknowledgement number.
  • Chakshu on Sanchar SaathiReport a fraud call, SMS or WhatsApp number.

Questions

What is the dating app cafe scam?
A match lures you to a particular cafe, bar or club, orders expensive items and leaves, and staff demand a hugely inflated bill. Police in Delhi and Hyderabad have found the profiles, the woman and the venue working together.
Do I have to pay an inflated bill if I am threatened?
Your safety comes first. If you are threatened or held, call the police on 112 from the venue, and keep the bill and any payment record as evidence.
Which cities has the dating cafe scam been reported in?
Police have made arrests in Delhi and Hyderabad, said the same group operated in Bengaluru, and similar accounts have come from Mumbai. It can happen anywhere a venue is willing to take part.

Before you meet a match, you can ask them to prove with a Realr check that they are a real person and who they say they are; it cannot vet the venue, so still pick the place yourself.

Ask your match to verify

Sources

Checked against the sources above on 17 October 2026. By Manav Sharma, Marketing Team, Realr. This is general guidance, not legal advice.

Ask them to prove who they are, before you pay or meet.

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