Gurugram: Imagine checking into a swanky hotel and living there for five months without paying a penny.
That’s exactly what 26-year-old Himanshu pulled off in Gurugram, using a fake PhonePe app to fool the staff with phony payment proof worth over Rs 6 lakh.
Himanshu, hailing from Sohna in Haryana, holds a Master’s degree in computer applications and even marketed YouTube channels through the ‘My Fame’ app. He settled into a service apartment on Golf Course Road, DLF Phase 5, in October 2025.
Over time, he presented 16 separate payment confirmations via WhatsApp to cover his lodging costs totalling a whopping Rs 6.17 lakh bill — not a rupee of which was ever truly transferred.
Hotel manager Tapish Kumar grew suspicious during a routine bank check.
“When we checked our firm’s bank account, we found that no payment had been received. Himanshu was asked for his bank statement, but he refused to provide it and left the hotel on February 24,” the complaint revealed.
Sector 53 police swung into action following the filing of an FIR and nabbed Himanshu. They also seized his phone for evidence. Needlesss to mention, it did not take the police too long to make him spill the beans.
During questioning, the suspect confessed to discovering 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 receivers.
“He installed the fake PhonePe application in which only the scanner works, while all other features are inactive. He stayed at the hotel from October 2025 to February 2026 and sent screenshots of 16 false transactions to the hotel manager and committed a fraud of over Rs 6 lakh,” a Gurugram Police spokesperson explained.
On Thursday a city court remanded the accused to judicial custody.
