Hyderabad Police Commissioner Warns Women of Rent Boyfriend Scams

Some people on social media are advertising a service where you can pay to 'rent' a boyfriend to keep you company.

The police in the city of Hyderabad say these offers are a trick by bad people.

The ads promise a handsome young man will join you for coffee, a movie, or shopping.

The pictures of the men are often made by computers or copied from the internet.

Some ads even offer big discounts, like 50 percent off, and the dates cost between 499 and 4,499 rupees.

But after people pay money for a security deposit or booking, the bad people block them and keep the money.

They also collect phone numbers and personal photos to threaten people later, which is called blackmail.

The police chief told parents to watch what their children see and do on social media and with their phones.

Anyone tricked should call the cyber crime helpline at 1930 or complain on the website cybercrime.gov.in.