Love trap - a money-making profession in England

The scene in the Midlands is similar to many other bars in the UK, a few women taking selfies, a couple sitting talking to friends, a man drinking a beer alone.

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

According toBBCThey were, in fact, private detectives who were monitoring a subject in his 20s. Their client was one of a growing number of people hiring private detectives to investigate marriage prospects in the UK.

Asians in the UK typically spend up to $73,000 on weddings. As a result, parents, brides and grooms are reluctant to take any risks when deciding on a future spouse. As a result, the pre-marital private investigation industry has boomed.

Detectives often create sweet traps full of romance or sexual temptation to test the character of the subject. All employees at Lion Detective Agency use fake names to secretly investigate, most of them are former police officers.

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

“There are a lot of horror stories of pre-nups, where people are scammed and get married for bad purposes,” he said. Singh estimates that about 70% of his clients are Asian and that since 2013, demand for private investigators has doubled.

He and his colleagues have since conducted hundreds of background checks and surveillances. One client, Sukhi, wanted information about his future brother-in-law after his sister agreed to an arranged marriage. Sukhi had heard rumors of his sleazy lifestyle and was concerned, so she approached Singh.

"My biggest concern is his loyalty," Sukhi said. "They say he likes to play around, and our family values ​​education very much. If he still wants to play around, I don't want him to marry my sister just to save face in front of the community, or to please his mother by finding a good daughter-in-law, which is what a lot of guys do."

"Laila" wants to check her future fiancé's background. Photo: BBC

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

"There are different types of love traps, from non-intimate to intimate, depending on the client's requirements," Singh said. "To test their character, we put temptations in front of them and observe how they behave."

During the surveillance, the private detectives followed and maintained a safe distance from the subject at the Midlands bar. They split into three groups. After taking selfies, two women approached and chatted with the subject, drinking together, while the other detectives followed and communicated via a phone messaging app.

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. During the entire conversation, Yaz said the subject never mentioned getting married through an arranged marriage.

Days later, the subject contacted Yaz and they began texting each other flirtatiously. He sent her private photos. All the information was passed on to Sukhi.

“It was hard to explain to my sister why I did this,” Sukhi said, but she had to do it for her family. Sukhi’s sister canceled her wedding, and her family fell apart. The two sisters are trying to rebuild their relationship.

Laila is in her early 30s. She is one of many people who like to check someone out before agreeing to date them.

“If I want to settle down with someone, I want to know 100% about them,” Laila says. “He said he was a businessman, owned a couple of houses, so he seemed financially stable; but that doesn’t mean I can just sit there and think, ‘I can depend on this person for the rest of my life,’ just based on what he said.”

"I don't want to be considered stupid."

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

Pre-matrimonial investigations originated in India. Today, there are many British companies that specialize in this field.

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

Background checks are a mandatory part of Kandola’s matchmaking process. She says this is something clients want to know before deciding on a future partner.

“They’ve had problems with partners before and want to get those issues sorted out right away,” says Kandola. “They want to know everything about the person they’re meeting.”

There's nothing romantic about stalking and baiting, but for many people about to get married, it's just as important as courtship or the engagement ring.

According to VNE