Online dating and romance scam victims report a loss of Rs 7,966 on an average in India and two-thirds of Indian adults (66 per cent) have fallen victim to an online dating/romance scam, a report showed on Thursday. The Norton study was conducted online in partnership with The Harris Poll and involved 1,000 Indian adults.

According to the study, 76% of adults polled, reported cutting short their interaction by unmatching or declining a date with someone after “uncovering unsettling information” about them.

Common reasons for doing so include finding pictures of them online that were disturbing (32%), finding out the person lied about their personal details (25%), finding pictures of them online that did not align with their dating profile pictures (24%), finding social media posts that were disturbing (24%), or because they found the person’s job title (20%).

The survey findings reveal that 79% of Indian adults who have used a dating website/app claimed to take some kind of action after matching with a potential partner online, with 49% looking up their social media profile(s), 32% looking up their profile on a professional networking site, 27% looking up their friends or family on social media, 26% typing their name into a search engine, and 22% paying to run a background check on them.

“We discovered external information outside the dating app often cut interaction with a potential match. Many online daters uncovered their love interest has been spinning a tale of lies and deception. It is important to be cautious about sharing private information and be wary of potential scammers pretending to be looking for love,” briefed Ritesh Chopra, director Sales and Field Marketing, India & SAARC Countries.

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