Accounts and Unified Payments Interface (UPI) identities that pose as fraudulent to carry out illegal activities through identity of Razorpay were ordered to be removed by the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) and social media platforms like Meta (Facebook), Telegram, and WhatsApp have been ordered by the Delhi High Court.

The company sought protection for its brand identity and consumers from financial theft after securing a John Doe order from the Delhi High Court that forbade the unlawful use of its identity.

The John Doe order protects an entity's intellectual property rights, a sort of pre-infringement injunction that enables the rights holder to sue an unidentified infringer whose identity is unknown at the time of filing the complaint.

“Effective immediately, this order mandates Facebook, WhatsApp and Telegram to suspend accounts found infringing on Razorpay’s trademarks and conducting fraudulent activities,” Razorpay said.

Recently, the company took legal action unidentified people who were posing as recruiters from Razorpay and promising part-time work for more money in exchange for deposits and other fictitious promises.

The company claimed that Facebook, Telegram, WhatsApp, and other platforms were being used to carry out these scams.

“This legal order reaffirms our commitment to transparency, accountability and trust in our services as the Razorpay brand. We remain steadfast in our resolve to take decisive legal action against any misuse of our brand to protect our customers’ interests and maintain their trust in the brand Razorpay,” said Shivli Katyayan, head of legal at Razorpay.

Companies have already filed a high court petition to stop the exploitation of their names and trademarks for online fraud.

Peak XV and Sequoia Capital filed separate complaints in January before the supreme court against an unidentified individual (John Doe) who was using the venture capital companies' names fraudulently to give advice on trading and investments.

Burger King and Ajio have already brought similar lawsuits after con artists used their brands to defraud customers out of substantial sums of money.