Dating app scam busted in Mumbai: Floodgates open

Following middayrsquos indepth exposeacute of the dating app racket several men came forward with evidence demanding strict action against the restaurants and the women involvedRs 55248Amount paid by victim Pratik JadhavlsquoI lost more than half of my monthly inhand salary in an hourrsquoVictim 1Pratik Jadhav a 34yearold IT professional said he was duped of Rs 55248 during an hourlong date at the Godfather Club with a woman he met on Tinder The youth looking for a serious relationship matched with Manisha likely a fake name on August 10 ldquoShe took down my number and contacted me on WhatsApp telling me to meet her at Crystal Paradise in Andheri West She also mentioned that she was from Delhi and staying with her aunt and cousinrdquoldquoI arrived at the location around 545 pm expecting to go on a date at Pizza Express whose location she had shared with me However she said ldquoNot hererdquo and led me to the Godfather claiming it was recommended by her cousin Once we got there she asked me to order two 60 ml shots of Antiquity Blue whisky hookah corn with chaat masala two cans of Red Bull and a chicken dish I ordered two pints of Kingfisher Mild beer The waiter took the menu away after a few minutes I didnrsquot examine the menu closely assuming the total cost would be between Rs 5000 to Rs 10000 as I had been to pubs beforerdquo he addedAccording to Jadhav suddenly sparklers appeared out of nowhere ldquoThere was no celebration so I assumed it was a complimentary gesture Around 715 pm the waiter approached me asking if I was on a budget When I said no he informed me that we had ordered items worth Rs 45000 I was shocked as the pub was not a finedining establishment In fact the infrastructure was quite poor I wanted to leave immediately I told her not to order anything else When the bill arrived it was Rs 55248 She took the bill from me pretending to verify if the place was indeed expensive At that point I still believed we were on a genuine daterdquo he saidJadhav said after paying the bill which Manisha pocketed without asking any questions and left ldquoShe arranged for an auto driver to drop me off at DN Nagar Metro station In a confused state I looked up reviews of the place on my way to the Metro station to learn that several others had been scammed the same way at the Godfather The Tinder profile was deleted leaving me with no proof of the bill except for my credit cardstatementrdquo he saidlsquoTwo cans of Red Bull made me Rs 1800 poorerrsquoThe profile of the woman the 30yearold matched with right The bill generated by the staffVictim 2A 30yearold alleged victim said ldquoOn August 4 I was lured to the Godfather by a woman I met on a dating app She ordered a pizza Blue Label pegs and two cans of Red Bull which alone cost Rs 1800rdquo Though the billed amount was Rs 39241 the man left after paying Rs 38000lsquoRs 35949 bill didnrsquot seem unusual to herrsquoThe call centre employee with Komal whom he met on Tinder right The bill which was paid entirely by the 30yearold manVictim 3A 30yearold call centre employee alleged he was similarly lured to the Godfather after matching with one Komal on Tinder on July 22 ldquoThe bill came up to Rs 35949 This did not seem unusual to her After leaving the club she said she needed to rush home as her sister was pregnant I then reported the incident at Amboli police station Later that night Komal messaged me again asking for Rs 5000rdquo he said He added ldquoWomen are using dating apps to lure young menrdquolsquoHave gathered ample evidence Totally ready to help policersquoAnushkaarsquos Tinder profile right The woman claimed she was from Delhi and staying in the city with her aunt and cousinVictim 4A 29yearold Kurlabased software engineer said he matched with one Anushkaa on Tinder on August 2 ldquoShe insisted on going to the Godfather claiming her cousin had recommended it The bill came up to R8535 The hookah was billed as a cocktail and priced at Rs 5000rdquo he saidHe added that he had gathered audio and video evidence ldquoThere are stories of individuals being scammed of much larger sums There are also serious concerns about the safety of individuals at such establishments I am in touch with other victims and have compiled their statements I am willing to help the policerdquo he saidlsquoHope cops crack down on racketrsquoThe bill paid by the Ghatkopar residentVictim 5A 29yearold Ghatkopar local working in the Indian Navy said on July 27 like the others he was allegedly lured to the Godfather after befriending one Manisha on TinderldquoA bill of Rs 39300 was prepared and the club members coerced me into paying via credit card Later when I reviewed my statement I discovered that the payment had gone to a company called Spy Technology Limited in Delhirdquo he saidldquoDuring the date one Abhijeet Sadke approached me and took R999 from me Manisha repeatedly called him by my name in the club leading me to suspect that she knew him I have filed an online complaint mentioning the womanrsquos name and number with the police a copy of which is with midday requesting that this racket be investigated and strict action be taken against those involvedrdquo he addedlsquoCould be conspiracyrsquoAkash Singh the owner of Godfather Club amp Lounge said ldquoOur competitor planned this They purposely defamed our club We have nothing to do with the women mentioned in the story We have even put up a sign stating that all couples are welcome and we do not charge them fees We have received such complaints at frequent intervals which suggests that this could be a conspiracyrdquomidday asked the owner whether the staff was aware women were leaving while bills were being paid and if so why were they not confronted when they returned to the club with other men Singh was also asked if there might be collusion between women and club staff but he simply stated that he had no information about thisHeed these warningsTheir hardearned cash swindled in a matter of minutes dating app users have been taking to the internet and food delivery apps to recount their harrowing experiences in significant detail in the hope that others avoid their fate Here are some reviews midday came across Scammers Please be aware that scammer girls will take you on a date at this place amp yoursquoll end up paying high billsmdash they have 2 rate cardsmdash she orders hookah R5000 n blue label and other drinks shersquoll orderhellip AVOID GOING TO THIS PLACE scammersPlease be aware that scammer girls will take you on a date at this place amp yoursquoll end up paying high billsmdash they have 2 rate cardsmdash she ordered hookah R5000 n blue label and other drinks shersquoll orderhellip AVOID GOING TO THIS PLACE Itrsquos a scammers club The girl will ask you for a date here and in no time the bill will go up to 25khellip they charge the hookah 5k and only 2 normal brand whiskey costs will go to 5k plus 1800 for 2 Red Bull Itrsquos run by scammers hellip Canrsquot understand why Zomato is not taking action after so many reviews by the customershellip Please be aware that scammer girls will take you on a date at this place amp yoursquoll end up paying high billsmdash they have 2 rate cardsmdash she ordered hookah R5000 n blue label and other drinks shersquoll orderhellip AVOID GOING TO THIS PLACE The setup is made in such a way that the girl will approach you and insist you meet at this pub and force you to order from here You would be served a different menu card wherein the amount would be amicably high as compared to other pubs The girl would force you to order an expensive drink and would try to make your bill to 10 to 15kScam alert Please be aware of the scam going around this club they have set up a plan with a girl with whom you can get along on Bumble The girl would insist to visit this place exactly at the preferred time and when you reach the destination you would order anything you want but please be aware that the price of a water bottle here is Rs 230 which is just a new rate for the date next when you order a hookah the price would be R5000 but I was aware of such shit things happening around so I just paid the price of the water bottle and exited the club the girl scamster disappeared as I exited Do avoid such clubs initiating ldquoscamsrdquo This place was worse they have girls kept to attract you and they will make your bill very big also they cheat on bills like 5 drinks the bill will be for 10 drinks even though they do not accept Zomato payments also Irsquoll ask for drinks the rates are for 30 ml and you have order that and while bill they claim like it was 60 ml but itrsquos not it was 30 ml and never order Hookah itrsquos will cost you 5k seriously and the rate arenrsquot mentioned anywhere so I will suggest never go to this place WARNING TO ALL GUYS This place is a big scam Please read all the reviews many guys have experienced being scammed at this place The staff is involved in these scams where everything is planned If you match with a girl on a dating app they will meet you outside this place and take you here They have a separate menu for these girls who take guys inside