In a move aimed against financial malpractices in the realm of digital payments, the Delhi High Court has issued a series of orders aimed at dismantling a scam targeting the prominent Indian payments platform Razorpay.
Major social media platforms such as Meta (Facebook), Telegram, and WhatsApp, along with the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), have been directed to take down accounts and Unified Payments Interface (UPI) identities misusing the trademark of Razorpay to carry out fraudulent activities. The 2014-founded Razorpay’s omnichannel payments and banking platform for businesses provides comprehensive fin-tech solutions.
The Delhi High Court’s intervention stemmed from a lawsuit filed by Razorpay against unidentified individuals. These fraudsters were allegedly impersonating Razorpay recruiters, targeting unsuspecting victims with enticing offers of part-time jobs and the promise of easy extra income. To lend legitimacy to their scheme, they created fake profiles and channels on popular messaging platforms like WhatsApp and Telegram. These profiles and channels not only mimicked the language and branding of Razorpay, but also went as far as to incorporate the company’s logos and trademarks.
The extent of the deception is evident in a documented case where a victim lost a significant sum – a staggering ₹6.71 lakh – after falling prey to this elaborate scheme. The fraudsters even went to the trouble of creating a fake “Guarantee Agreement” that not only featured Razorpay’s branding but also included logos of reputable institutions like HDFC Bank and Google Pay, further solidifying the illusion of legitimacy in the victim’s mind.
To combat this impersonation scam, Razorpay leveraged a legal tool known as a John Doe order. This type of order allows a plaintiff to initiate legal action against individuals whose identities are unknown at the time of filing the lawsuit. “Effective immediately, this order mandates Facebook, WhatsApp, and Telegram to suspend accounts found infringing on Razorpay’s trademarks and conducting fraudulent activities,” Razorpay stated. The company recently filed a lawsuit against unknown individuals who were misrepresenting themselves as recruiters from Razorpay, offering part-time jobs for extra income in exchange for deposits and other false promises. These scams were being perpetrated through platforms such as WhatsApp, Facebook, and Telegram.
The court has issued several orders, including a John Doe order, to gather information and halt the fraudulent activities. Telecom service providers have been instructed to temporarily suspend certain mobile numbers involved in the scam and to submit identification details of the account holders. The National Payments Corporation of India has been directed to suspend specific UPI IDs used in the fraud and provide related KYC documents. This development comes at a time when Internet and card-based banking frauds have clocked a sharp increase, according to the latest annual report from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). There were a total of 29,082 instances of credit/debit card and internet-based fraud in the financial year 2023-2024—an alarming 334% rise from the previous fiscal year when there were nearly 7,000 such instances. The amount involved in digital payment frauds jumped fivefold to ₹1,457 crore, representing roughly 10% of the total fraud, which reached ₹13,930 crore in FY24.
