Love traps - a lucrative profession in England.

The scene in Midlands is similar to many other bars in England: a few women taking selfies, a couple chatting with friends, a man drinking beer alone.

"Love Trap" tests men's reactions to women in a tempting situation. Photo: Istock

According toBBCIn fact, they are private detectives monitoring a subject in their twenties. Their client is one of a growing number of people hiring private detectives to investigate potential marriage partners in the UK.

Asians in the UK often spend up to $73,000 on weddings. Therefore, parents, brides, and grooms alike want to avoid any risks when choosing a future partner. As a result, the premarital investigation service has boomed.

Detectives often create sweet, romantic traps or sexual temptations to test the character of their subjects. All employees at Lion Detective Agency use pseudonyms for covert investigations, and the majority are former police officers.

"Raj Singh" founded a detective agency after leaving the police force.

"There are so many horrific premarital stories, people are scamming and getting married for bad intentions," he said. Singh estimates that about 70% of his clients are Asian, and since 2013, the demand for private investigators has doubled.

He and his colleagues have conducted hundreds of background checks and surveillance cases since then. A client named Sukhi wanted information about her future brother-in-law after her sister accepted an arranged marriage. Sukhi had heard rumors of his disreputable lifestyle and was worried, so she sought Singh's help.

"What worries me most is his loyalty," Sukhi said. "They say he's a playboy, and our family values ​​family traditions very highly. If he still wants to play around, I don't want him marrying my sister just to show off to the community, or to please his mother by finding a decent daughter-in-law, which is what many guys do."

"Laila" wants to check the background of her future fiancé. Photo: BBC

Sukhi paid hundreds of pounds to spy on her future brother-in-law, including setting a love trap.

"There are many types of seduction traps, ranging from non-intimate to intimate, depending on the client's requirements," Singh said. "To test their character, we place the temptation in front of them and observe how they react."

During the surveillance, the private detectives followed and maintained a safe distance from the target at the Midlands bar. They split into three teams. After taking selfies, two women approached and struck up a conversation with the target, drinking together, while the other detectives followed and communicated via text messaging apps.

The subject showed interest in "Yaz"—one of the two female detectives. Within 30 minutes, they exchanged phone numbers. It was a kind of love trap. Throughout the conversation, Yaz stated that the subject never mentioned anything about getting married through an arranged marriage.

Several days later, the man contacted Yaz and they began exchanging flirtatious messages. He sent her private photos. All the information was passed on to Sukhi.

"It's hard to explain to my sister why I did this," Sukhi said, but she had to do it for the sake of her family. Sukhi's sister canceled her wedding, and her family is in turmoil. The two sisters are trying to rebuild their relationship.

Laila is just over 30 years old. She's one of many people who want to check out potential partners before agreeing to date them.

"If I want to settle down with someone, I want to know 100% about them," Laila said. "He says he's a businessman, owns a few houses so his finances seem stable; but that doesn't mean I'm just going to sit around and think, 'I can rely on this person for the rest of my life' just based on what he says."

"I don't want to be seen as an idiot."

Kandola (right) wants to check the background of clients before arranging matchmaking. Photo: BBC

Pre-marital investigations originated in India. Today, many British companies specialize in this field.

Saranjit Kandola is the managing director of askbhabi.co.uk, a matchmaking company for Sikhs in the UK.

Background checks are a mandatory step in Kandola's matchmaking process. She explained that this is what clients want to know before deciding on a future life partner.

"They've had problems with previous partners and want to eliminate those issues immediately," Kandola said. "They want to know everything about the person they're going to meet."

The process of stalking and setting a love trap is not romantic at all, but for many people about to get married, it's just as important as courting or giving an engagement ring.

According to VNE