PUNE — When a 44-year-old contractor scrolling social media encountered a video featuring a woman declaring, “I want a man who will make me a mother… I will give him ₹25 lakh,” the proposition sounded unbelievable — and yet compelling. What followed would leave him emotionally shaken and financially devastated.
The advertisement, posted by a group calling itself “Pregnant Job,” promised a lucrative payout in exchange for impregnating a woman. “It doesn’t matter if you are educated or not, what your caste is or whether you are fair or dark,” the woman in the video said, offering an equal-opportunity fantasy wrapped in an intimate promise of parenthood and wealth.
The man called the number provided. On the other end, someone posing as an assistant explained that “candidates” needed to register and obtain identification before living with the woman. Over the next several weeks, the complainant paid repeated “processing charges,” believing he was securing an unusual but legal contract.
By the time doubts surfaced, more than ₹11 lakh had been transferred — often in small UPI and IMPS payments, police said — and the fraudsters had vanished, blocking all contact.
A Scam Built on Intimacy and Illusion
Unlike conventional financial frauds that rely on fabricated bank messages or deepfake law-enforcement threats, this scheme hinged on emotional bait — tapping into aspirations tied to masculinity, companionship, and fertility.
Investigators describe it as part of a growing genre of “relationship-lure cybercrime,” where targets are not just financially manipulated but psychologically groomed. “The complainant was lured, manipulated, and at times coerced,” an officer involved in the case said, pointing to over 100 micro-transactions made between September and late October.
Experts say such scams work by exploiting desire, loneliness, and the taboo nature of the proposition — suppressing rational caution in victims who believe they’ve stumbled into a secretive opportunity.
A Pattern Across States — and a New Playbook
Cyber police across multiple states have been confronting similar schemes since late 2022. Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, and Maharashtra have all reported arrests linked to networks circulating sensational videos and fabricated job offers promising intimacy and instant income.
A Pune-based cyber investigator noted that the pattern closely mirrors older frauds but is tailored to social-media psychology: bold promises, alluring visuals, and targeted messaging toward working-class men seeking upward mobility.
Payments are demanded first as “registration,” then for identity verification, medical tests, legal paperwork, and security deposits — mimicking corporate formality while capitalizing on digital payment convenience and the trust built through sustained communication.
Beyond Financial Loss: Stigma and Silence
The contractor eventually approached police after realizing he had been duped. An FIR has been registered, and investigators are tracing mobile numbers and bank channels used in the fraud.
But officers acknowledge a deeper challenge — victims are often reluctant to file complaints, fearing public embarrassment. Unlike tech-driven crypto scams or phishing attacks, these hoaxes trigger personal shame, which experts say has allowed the fraud to proliferate quietly.
As supervisory agencies build awareness campaigns against deepfakes, investment fraud, and digital arrest scams, the emergence of “intimacy-bait cybercrime” underscores the evolving contours of digital vulnerability in India — where emotional persuasion can be as powerful a tool as sophisticated hacking.
Here, the betrayal is not only financial; it is human, rooted in trust, desire, and dignity — reminding investigators that the future of cybercrime may be less about code, and more about psychology.
