This 66-year-old man who married and conned 27 women is being called India’s ‘Tinder Swindler’ | #daitngscams | #lovescams

Many tens of thousands of people are targeted by cons dubbed “romance scams” every year, their numbers skyrocketing during the Covid pandemic when lockdowns sent people flocking to the internet seeking a salve for isolation.

Ramesh Kumar Swain, who married and defrauded and married 27 women from ten different states for money is being called India’s ‘Tinder Swindler.’

The 66-year-old con man was arrested by the Odisha police while he was travelling in a car in Bhubaneswar.

”Though he looked more than 60 in real life, his victims ignored it while considering his government job. Swain took full advantage of the women’s helplessness and laid elaborate traps,” said Bhubaneswar deputy commissioner Umashankar Dash.

Among one of Odisha’s most notorious fraudsters, Swain targeted women that were middle-aged, educated, and well-off but were coping with divorce, or had family issues. 

Also see | ‘Gangubai Kathiawadi’ to ‘Gehraiyaan’: Movies and shows to look out for in February 2022

Although he has has only 5 feet 2 inches tall and passed Class X, he has been accused of defrauding 13 banks in Kerala of Rs 1 crore ($1.3 million) using 128 forged credit cards. 

He also swindled parents in Hyderabad of Rs 2 crore ($2.7 million) by promising their children seats in MBBS courses.

The US Federal Trade Commission, tracking scams reported to its Consumer Sentinel Network, said 2021 saw a record $547 million stolen in romance scams. This marked a nearly 80 percent increase compared to the year before.

Those figures cap an upward trend that leapt in the first year of the pandemic. People reported to the FTC losing $1.3 billion to the scams over the past five years, the most of any fraud category. 

But it is just the tip of the iceberg, the FTC notes, as the vast majority of cons go unreported.

Also read | Indian-origin husband forged wife’s signature for divorce; she remained unaware about it for 12 years

Tim McGuinness, founder of the non-profit Society of Citizens Against Relationship Scams (SCARS), said numbers soared because of “the isolation, the loneliness and the utilisation of the web as virtually the exclusive communication tool” during the pandemic.

Covid offers new ruses

Cancelled dates over supposedly positive Covid tests and disrupted travel plans due to lockdowns are ruses that feed into the well-worn script of romance scammers, the FTC warned.

While awareness is growing, through support groups, online forums and even a recent documentary on Netflix “The Tinder Swindler,” many still fall prey to elaborate cons spun to get into a victim’s heart.

Scammers, many based in West Africa, will adopt fake identities, often saying they work abroad and travel a lot or are in the military, providing ready-made excuses for why they can’t meet in person.

A period of intense contact is followed by requests to wire money for plane tickets, visa fees, medical expenses or other emergencies, always with the promise of paying the amount back when they are finally united.

The internet was already a low-cost, high-return field, but scammers, often working in teams, now hunt everywhere from Instagram to online games like Words with Friends. 

(With inputs from agencies)