Police have warned the public to take extreme care over friendships and romantic relationships formed through online dating applications, citing a rise in financial fraud in which victims are induced to install software that steals their banking credentials.
Several incidents have been reported in which scammers approach victims through friend requests, romantic relationships and marriage proposals initiated on dating apps, the Daily Mirror reported on Saturday afternoon.
How the fraud works
According to police, the fraudsters build trust by sending persuasive and flattering messages over periods that may be short or extended. They then move the conversation to widely used platforms — Facebook, WhatsApp and Telegram — where they present themselves as offering companionship or sexual services. Victims are persuaded to download and install a particular mobile application.
Those applications may carry malicious software able to reach sensitive financial information and login credentials when the victim later carries out online banking. Police describe a common method in which fraudsters distribute malicious Android application packages (APK files) disguised as dating apps. Once installed, the software can compromise the device and capture banking usernames, passwords and other sensitive data during online transactions.
Police said financial scams run through social media and messaging platforms are becoming more sophisticated, with criminals exploiting the promise of love, romance and companionship to deceive people.
What police advise
The public has been told not to download applications from unknown or unverified sources, and not to share sensitive personal information with strangers — including banking details, passwords, one-time passwords (OTPs), personal photographs and video recordings.
Police urged vigilance in dealings with strangers online and said people should take appropriate steps to protect their personal information, mobile devices and financial accounts.
The emphasis on APK files is the practical core of the warning. Android allows applications to be installed from outside the official store, and a file sent directly through a messaging app bypasses the store’s review entirely. An application delivered as an attachment by someone met on a dating platform is the specific pattern police are describing.
Not reported
The statement gives no figures — no number of complaints, no total sum lost, and no period over which the reported incidents occurred. It names no specific application, does not say whether the fake apps impersonate real dating services, and does not identify which unit issued the warning or whether arrests have been made.
It does not say whether the fraud is being run from within Sri Lanka or from abroad, and no bank or regulator is quoted. The Daily Mirror report is bylined Ajith Siriwardana.
No other verified newsroom had carried the warning at the time of writing. This advisory is separate from the fake banking website scam flagged by SLCERT around the Vap Poya holiday, which used a different method.
Sources: Police warn public of financial scams using fake dating Apps — Daily Mirror, October 24.