Date Scam in bumble
For the context, keep in mind that I’ve actually read news about this exact style of dating scam before, especially cases that happened in Singapore years ago. The whole time, I was aware this method existed… and somehow I still fell for it.
From Malaysia.
Recently, I matched with this girl, “C”, 24F. Her profile looked pretty legit at first. She looks like a local too. One face pic, the rest were healthy meals, study notes, normal lifestyle stuff. Her bio even said something like, “Not here to exchange IG immediately,” which honestly made her seem more authentic.
Usually, she took very long time to reply to make sure you were committed and invested for days. Ngl I didn’t like the way and the things (NPC-like) she replied but she was the only one I was chatting with at that time so I really did just put my effort for her. Oh yea, She was also weirdly secretive and gave very little info about herself
Eventually, she initiated a dinner meetup. I asked if it was too soon, but she insisted she was “just looking for a dinner partner.” Before meeting, she kept updating me about random daily stuff like what she ate, whether she was working, if it was raining, etc. It felt genuine. Right?
Then we met.
First red flag: she looked totally different from her photo. Second red flag: she wasn’t local like I assumed. She was Taiwanese and had only been in Malaysia for a few months. She’s also 26, not 24, but she looks past 30 tbh.
She picked the location. We started walking around to see what to eat, and then this promoter/waiter standing outside a bar suddenly approached us. The weird part was how smoothly she and the promoter seemed to sync. He promoted the place, she immediately checked the menu, and then she said she wanted to try the “Mexican food.” The prices on the menu looked okay, so I thought, fine, let’s go.
We walked upstairs into this dark, empty bar-like restaurant. No customers at all. Just staff. One worker was even lying on the couch area like he was sleeping. At that point, my instincts were screaming, but since I was already there, I tried to stay calm and alert.
I started observing everything carefully — their faces, how they talked, how the girl interacted with the staff. Honestly, they did put up a pretty decent act, but deep down I already knew they were working together.
Then she ordered some random wine I couldn’t even understand. She pointed at something that looked like RM40 per cup, so I thought, okay, that’s still manageable.
After that, I went to the toilet. I kinda saw and feel that girl was starting to feel nervous a little. Even while walking there, I was carefully looking around, checking if there were exits, whether there were more suspicious people, and if anything else felt off. I also sent my live location to my friend because the whole place felt shady.
When I came back, the waiter suddenly told me the card machine was broken and asked if I could pay by cash or QR. Since I thought the bill wouldn’t be that expensive, I said okay. Right after that, I wanted to ask for the total price, but he walked away into the kitchen so quickly that I didn’t get the chance.
Then the girl started distracting me by asking lots of questions and being extra friendly. That made it feel even more suspicious, like she was trying to stop me from thinking too much.
I also noticed a weird label/sign around the bar that said something like “Indian Club…” which made the place feel even more confusing and shady.
Later, the waiter came back with the wine already in his hand and started pouring it. I kept asking, “How much?” He said “18.” I asked, “18 what? 180?” because I’m not familiar with wine prices at all. But he just avoided answering properly.
Then he handed me the bill.
RM1,7xx +.
At that moment, everything clicked and pointed to what I already thought it was minutes ago. The fake-friendly girl, the promoter outside, the empty bar, the “broken” card machine, the wine, the distraction. It was clearly a setup.
She then pretended to ask if she could pay with her Wise card, but of course the waiter said no, only local bank. That was when it became obvious they were trying to frame me into paying the bill.
I tried to buy time while thinking of an escape plan. I was honestly not very scared but kinda clueless and unsure what to do, so I kept acting dumb and calm because I didn’t want to trigger them. The waiter kept pressuring me to pay and kept calling her my “girlfriend,” which pissed me off even more because I knew exactly what he was trying to do.
I told them I really didn’t have money because I was still a student. She said, “I thought you work already?” I told her I was only an intern.
Then she asked me to pay whatever I had in my bank. I actually had more, but I lied and said I only had RM200. I was so scared of accidentally exposing myself, but I managed to stick with the story.
In the end, I paid RM200 just to get out safely.
Then she told me to go to my car first while she “called a friend” to help pay the rest. Obviously, I didn’t believe her. I left immediately, but sadly I forgot my umbrella there. I was lucky that she believed I only have rm200 and she’s not greedy.
Instead of going to my car like she said, I went to somewhere open and safer first, just to get off their radar. Then I froze my bank account because I paid by QR and panicked, thinking they might somehow hack it.
So yeah, I lost RM200, my time, and my umbrella.
Terrifying experience, expensive lesson, but at least I got out safely.
Moral of the story: if your date looks different from her profile, don’t even think about continuing the date. Go home and sleep is better 🫠 hope this gives an insight for yall.