Three true stories
- October 2026, Natore. A Bangladeshi man working in Italy "married" a woman he had met on Facebook, by phone. She always avoided video calls. She turned out to be a young man using a voice-changing app, helped by his father, and more than Tk 3 lakh was gone (Prothom Alo).
- 2020. A newspaper marriage advert drew a 70-year-old widower into a scam that took about Tk 1.79 crore. The police (CID) said the woman behind it had been running such adverts for ten years (The Business Standard).
- Every week, everywhere. Regulators like the US Federal Trade Commission describe the same pattern again and again: someone who cannot meet, who moves the chat off the app, and who then needs money.
The red flags
- They will not do a video call, or the camera is always "broken".
- They move fast: talk of nikah within days, pressure to decide.
- They move you off the app to WhatsApp, imo or Telegram early on.
- They keep families out: "don’t tell your parents yet", "my family is abroad".
- The story does not add up: job, city, age or family details change.
- Money appears: a hospital bill, a visa fee, a parcel stuck at customs, land papers, an "investment".
- A visa is part of the offer: "I will take you abroad" — with a fee attached.
Our safety centre lists the eleven scripts we see most, with what to do for each.
The family video call
A family video call before any commitment is the simplest check there is. Real families are happy to do it; scammers find reasons not to.
- Ask for a call with both families present — a parent or sibling on each side.
- Keep it natural: greetings, where everyone is from, what each person does.
- Notice whether the person on screen matches the photos and the voice you know.
- If they refuse, keep postponing, or only send recorded clips, stop there.
Checking someone is real
- Search their main photo with a reverse image search (for example Google Lens). Stolen photos often show up under other names.
- Ask relatives or friends in their city whether anyone knows the family.
- If they name an employer, a short call to the company’s main number to confirm they work there is reasonable. Do not go further than that.
- Look for a verification badge, and check what it means. On KobulKabin, each badge says exactly what was checked — see trust and verification.
The one rule: never send money
Do not send money, gifts, gold, gift cards or crypto to anyone you have not met with your families — however urgent the story. Scammers are skilled at turning "no" into "just this once". KobulKabin, its staff and its matchmakers will never ask you for money in a chat or to a personal bKash or Nagad number.
If it has happened to you
- Stop paying, even if they threaten you or promise to pay it back.
- Keep screenshots, phone numbers and payment receipts.
- Tell your bank or mobile wallet straight away — sometimes payments can be stopped.
- Report the profile on the platform where you met.
- Report the fraud to the police or the national fraud service where you live. See where to get help.
- Tell someone you trust. You did nothing shameful: these are professional criminals.
How KobulKabin helps
- Nobody can message you until you both accept.
- In the first 48 hours of a conversation, the app warns you if someone asks for a phone number, an email address or money.
- Links stay blocked in chat until you are both ID verified.
- "Asking for money" and "already married" are report reasons, reviewed by our trust and safety team.