In an unusual case of digital payment fraud, a man allegedly stayed in a hotel room in Haryana’s Gurugram district for almost five months without paying, allegedly using fake payment screenshots in total more than ₹6 lakh to mislead the hotel management.
The fraud came to light when the hotel operator audited their bank statements and discovered that no funds had actually been deposited.
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FIR registered, suspect arrested
Following this finding, a First Information Report (FIR) was lodged at the Sector 53 police station, which led to the arrest of the suspect by the Gurugram police.
Postgraduate con man
Authorities have identified the person as 26-year-old Himanshu, a resident of Sohn. Ironically, the accused has a post-graduate degree in computer applications and was allegedly employed to market the YouTube channel through the ‘My Fame’ app.
According to the official complaint by Tapish Kumar – who manages a hotel and serviced apartment on Golf Course Road in DLF Phase 5 – Himanshu was a guest since October 2025. Between his arrival and February 24, the suspect submitted 16 separate WhatsApp payment receipts to cover his accommodation expenses. But investigators say every single transaction was fraudulent.
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The complainant stated that the accused accumulated a total of bills ₹6.17 lakh, of which not even a rupee was ever actually transferred.
“When we checked our company’s bank account, we found that no payment was received. Himanshu was asked for the bank statement, but he refused to provide it and left the hotel on February 24,” the complaint said.
PhonePe fake app
Following the tip-off, police arrested Himansha on Wednesday under DLF Phase 5.
During interrogation, the suspect reportedly confessed to having discovered a video on YouTube detailing a fraudulent version of the PhonePe app. The video demonstrated how to generate convincing fake payments that mimic successful credit alerts for recipients.
As part of the ongoing investigation, the police seized a mobile device from the suspect.
“He installed a fake PhonePe application in which only the scanner works while all other functions are inactive. He stayed at the hotel from October 2025 to February 2026 and sent screenshots of 16 fake transactions to the hotel manager and committed fraud exceeding ₹6 lakh,” said a Gurugram police spokesperson.
After appearing in the city court on Thursday, the accused was remanded in judicial custody.
A comprehensive framework was sought to curb UPI fraud
The Delhi High Court recently sought a response to a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) seeking to formulate comprehensive guidelines and create a strengthened regulatory and investigative framework to deal with rising cases of fraud through the Unified Payments Interface (UPI).
The court issued a notice to the Union of India through the Ministry of Finance, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI).
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The petition was filed by Pankaj Nigam, a 61-year-old retired central government employee, through advocates Nishchaya Nigam and C. Ankeet Appanna.
The plea raises concerns about what it describes as serious gaps in the existing reporting, redressal and investigation mechanisms that deal with UPI-related financial fraud.
According to petitionthe petitioner himself became a victim of UPI fraud on 15 February 2024 while searching for rental accommodation through real estate aggregator websites.
