 "Fraud, Scam")
Fraud, Scam(Photo: Shutterstock)
The Delhi Police on Thursday summoned popular YouTuber Elvish Yadav, comedian Bharti Singh, and three other social media influencers in connection with an alleged scam involving the HIBOX mobile application. The app, according to police reports, lured investors with promises of guaranteed returns and resulted in a fraud estimated at Rs 500 crore. “HIBOX is a mobile application that was part of a well-planned scam,” Deputy Commissioner of Police (IFSO Special Cell) Hemant Tiwari explained.
The investigation follows over 500 complaints filed with Delhi Police, in which users accused various influencers and YouTubers of promoting HIBOX on their platforms and enticing followers to invest.
Background of the case
On 16 August, the Intelligence Fusion & Strategic Operations (IFSO) unit received a complaint from 29 individuals alleging that they were duped by the HIBOX app. The complainants stated that they were promised daily returns of 1% to 5%, leading to potential monthly returns of 30% to 90%. In response, the police launched a probe, uncovering the involvement of several popular social media personalities.
Those named in the investigation include:
Saurav Joshi
Abhishek Malhan
Purav Jha
Elvish Yadav
Bharti Singh
Harsh Limbachiya
Lakshay Choudhary
Adarsh Singh
Amit
Dilraj Singh Rawat
Modus operandi
Police reports reveal that Sivaram, a 30-year-old resident of Chennai and the alleged mastermind, promised investors substantial monthly returns through the app, which launched in February 2024. The platform initially delivered high returns, encouraging more people to invest. However, since July, HIBOX allegedly began withholding payments, citing various issues such as technical glitches, legal troubles, and GST complications.
DCP Tiwari noted, “The alleged companies behind HIBOX shut down their Noida office in Uttar Pradesh before disappearing.”
EASEBUZZ and PhonePe under scrutiny
Investigations also indicate potential negligence from payment gateway companies EASEBUZZ and PhonePe, as these platforms were used to facilitate transactions for HIBOX. “To date, 127 complaints have been consolidated, and the roles of EASEBUZZ and PhonePe are under scrutiny,” DCP Tiwari stated. The police suspect that these companies might have bypassed proper verification procedures and ignored Reserve Bank of India guidelines while setting up merchant accounts for the HIBOX operators.
Rise in digital fraud cases
According to the Indian Cybercrime Coordination Centre (I4C), over 100,000 cases of investment scams were reported in 2023. In the first four months of 2024 alone, Indians lost approximately Rs 1,760 crore due to digital fraud:
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Rs 120 crore lost in 4,599 digital fraud cases -
Rs 1,420 crore lost in trading scams through 20,043 cases -
Rs 222 crore lost in 62,687 investment scam complaints
First Published: Oct 04 2024 | 9:41 AM IST
