‘Nigerian prince’ scam gets a dating-app twist, man loses life savings of Rs 1.46 lakh

His complaint led Delhi Police to an interstate cybercrime syndicate, with four people arrested across Delhi, Telangana and Andhra Pradesh, including a Nigerian woman.

The case, police said, bears similarities to one of the oldest forms of internet fraud — the “Nigerian prince” scam. While the earlier scam typically involved emails promising large sums of money, similar tactics have now found their way onto dating apps.

According to an officer, police have so far been able to trace six more victims, including those from other states, who were allegedly duped by the accused. The accused are believed to have earned a total of Rs 94 lakh through the alleged fraud.

Enter ‘Dr Harry Robot’

For the 23-year-old, it started with a message from Dr Harry Robot from the US on March 25.

Speaking to The Indian Express, he said, “Harry said he doesn’t use the app much and that it would be better to connect on WhatsApp. So I gave him my number,” he said.

The man described Harry from the display picture on WhatsApp as tall, fair, and muscular with a full head of hair. “We would text constantly,” he recalled. “My English isn’t that good so I would avoid calls. But he was very patient. And he would praise India so much.”

Within three days, Harry told the sales professional that he would be coming to Delhi.

“On March 30, he told me that there is no direct flight to Delhi, so he would be coming to Mumbai and then to Delhi. I’ve never been to an airport, so I assumed that’s how it must be,” said the man.

Harry landed in Mumbai and sent the Bareilly man a picture of the airport. But he wanted some money.

“He asked me for Rs 25,000 to buy a ticket to Delhi as he didn’t have any currency with him. So I paid,” he said.

Harry asked for more money. “This time, he said that to convert USD to INR, he would need a Money Declaration Certificate that costs Rs 75,000. I paid for that too… I didn’t know anything about the process,” said the 23-year-old.

Harry then told the Delhi man that he’d been asked to pay Rs 1 lakh by customs for clearing some things. “I said I was running out of money. Harry told me he’d convinced the customs officers to settle Rs 50,000. So, I gave him the amount.”

In total, the man had transferred Rs 1.46 lakh through multiple UPI IDs and bank accounts, which Harry claimed belonged to police officers.

Then came Harry’s most audacious demand. “He said a parcel containing US dollars and gold was with him, which he bought as a gift for me. I told him I hadn’t asked for any of that. He then said he had been arrested and the police were asking another Rs 1 lakh as a clearing fee,” said the man.

By now, he sensed something was off. He went back to his chats with Harry, found the picture of the airport, and Googled it. “It was the Delhi airport, not the Mumbai one. I texted him and he immediately deleted the picture,” said the man.

Realising he had been duped, he approached the Cyber Police Station in Southwest Delhi and an FIR was registered in March.

Following the money

A team led by Sub-Inspector Vishal Yadav began examining bank transactions, mobile phone records and digital footprints under the supervision of Inspector Pravesh Kaushik.

The investigation first led police to South Delhi.

Based on technical inputs, officers arrested Deepak Kumar (22) from Maidan Garhi and recovered a mobile phone allegedly used in the fraud. It was handing one of the mule accounts to which the money was transferred.

The trail then shifted nearly 1,500 km away to Telangana.

Investigators arrested Konda Sagar (33) from Jayashankar Bhupalpally district before picking up another suspect, Azmeera Vinod Kumar (30), from Dubbapeta. Two mobile phones were allegedly recovered from his possession.

“Deepak, Konda Sagar and Azmeera arranged mule bank accounts through which the cheated money was routed in exchange for commission,” said DCP (Southwest) Amit Goel.

The Nigerian link

As investigators analysed the seized devices, they found another name surfacing repeatedly — Simeon Miracle Chinonso, a Nigerian Woman living in Visakhapatnam.

Chinonso, 22, came to India on a student visa in 2023, sponsored by her uncle. She enrolled in a college in Vishakaptanam.

Then, the real purpose of her visit was set into motion.

“Another person from Nigeria put her in touch with an Indian woman in Delhi, who trained foreigners in the art of scamming Indians. The woman taught her accents, messaging techniques, and how to pose as both a man and a woman to seduce potential victims. Chinonso then created accounts on multiple dating apps under fake identities,” said a police officer involved in the case.

One of those apps was Grindr. She created an account under the name Dr Harry Robot and, on March 25, matched with the man in Vasant Kunj.

Police arrested Chinonso, who, investigators believe, played a central role in deceiving victims.

“Chinonso impersonated immigration officials, customs officers and representatives of other organisations through WhatsApp calls and messages to convince victims that valuable foreign consignments were waiting to be released,” said DCP Goel.

Four mobile phones allegedly used in the operation were recovered from her.

Police said further investigation is underway to identify other members of the interstate syndicate and ascertain whether the accused targeted more victims using the same modus operandi.

‘Nigerian Prince’ scam in a new avatar?

According to a police officer, the case shows how online fraud has evolved.

“For decades, the Nigerian prince scam was among the most recognisable forms of internet deception. The formula was simple: A stranger would send an email claiming to be a prince, government official, businessman, widow or heir who needed help moving a large amount of money out of a country. The recipient was promised a substantial financial reward for helping,” said the officer.

But before the fortune could be released, there was always a problem: A tax had to be paid or customs had to be cleared or a bank transfer fee had to be deposited.

The victim would make one payment, then another problem would appear. “And another payment would be required. The promised fortune never arrived,” said the officer.

The officer said the term “Nigerian Prince” or “419 scam” originated from Section 419 of the Nigerian Criminal Code, which deals with fraud. In India, Section 419 in the erstwhile Indian Penal Code (IPC) also refers to cheating by personation.

In the early 2000s through 2010, police said such cases were very common. Many of the perpetrators were believed to be operating from Nigeria or South American countries.

But the new generation of scams can exploit something much more personal like loneliness and the desire for companionship, the officer said. “This is what makes dating-app fraud particularly difficult to detect,” he added.