Wedding bells or fraud smells? Bengaluru’s latest door-to-door scam

In a strange development, a potential new scam is making the rounds in the city. It involves individuals knocking on doors, claiming to need urgent financial help for a wedding.
The alarm was first raised by a local resident who shared their experience on social media. According to the post, the resident was in the middle of their usual Saturday afternoon routine when they were interrupted by a woman in her 40s.
The resident was startled from their nap and reported that the woman, speaking in Kannada, was asking for ₹15,000 to cover expenses for her daughter’s wedding, scheduled to take place at a nearby temple. The resident, who does not speak Kannada fluently, said he was initially confused but understood that the request was related to a wedding.
“Though I don’t speak Kannada, I understand it fairly well. But as I was sleepy, my Kannada comprehension skills had gone for a toss until I heard the word ‘maduve’, with the lady pointing to a young girl, who wouldn’t be older than 15 years. ‘Marriage??!!’ I shouted regaining consciousness,” the user wrote in a post on Reddit.
“In my broken Kannada, I told her I didn’t understand Kannada completely. She then asked, if I spoke Telugu or Hindi. “Telugu!”, I said. She explained that her daughter was to get married in a while in a temple nearby and they fell short of marriage expenses by 15 thousand and wanted me to help her urgently,” he shared in the post.
Upon realizing that the woman was asking for urgent financial help, the resident declined the request and shut the door, later expressing regret over their reaction. The user then questioned whether this is a new scam targeting unsuspecting individuals in the city.
“’No!’, I shouted and closed the door rudely, annoyed by the fact that she disturbed my sleep. This is something I regret badly. Anyway, do you think this is a new scam in Bangalore, asking for money for an ‘urgent marriage’? If it wasn’t a scam, how should one react given that the girl (bride) is a minor? Would a police complaint help?” the post said.
Many are of the opinion that the purported urgency and emotional appeal of the situation may be tactics used by scammers to elicit quick responses and financial aid.
“Yup, it’s a scam. The first time it happened, I felt bad thinking that small amount shouldn’t matter to me, but could be very important to them. And after that, different people have come least 3-4 times that I’ve stopped talking and close the door/gate on their face. I feel bad to do this, but I’m sure that if I give once, a lot more will come,” a Reddit user responded to the post.
Several other users also agreed and shared similar experiences.