A viral article claiming singer Neha Kakkar has been arrested for endorsing a scam investment platform is fake and a scam. The viral post is being shared as a sponsored ad on X and Facebook and impersonates the website of news outlet The Indian Express, replete with a fabricated article on Kakkar's arrest and protests demanding her release.
BOOM found that the fake article directs users to a dubious webpage promoting a fraudulent trading platform which claims to double the investment of its users.
The Claim: Neha Kakkar Arrested For Revealing Trading Platform Which Increased Her Investments
An article mimicking The Indian Express, claims singer Neha Kakkar in an interview, revealed the name of an investment platform which doubled her income. The article further claims Kakkar has been arrested for revealing the name of the platform.
What We Found:
1. Fake Website Impersonating The Indian Express
The viral article appears on a website designed to resemble the layout of news outlet The Indian Express. However, the URL is not associated with the official domain (indianexpress.com). Instead, the scam site is hosted at hindu-express247.com, which is not the news portal's official domain address.
2. Recurring Scam Tactic Using Celebrity Faces
BOOM has previously debunked similar scams, promoting fraudulent investment apps using fake celebrity endorsements. In one such instance, singer Shreya Ghoshal was falsely linked to a near identical scheme.
3. Bizarre Story Of Neha Kakkar's House Arrest
The fake article features a fictional and bizarre story about Kakkar, claiming she has been placed under house arrest by the Government of India after accidentally revealing an additional source of income in an interview.
4. Neha Kakkar on The Kapil Sharma Show
BOOM watched the January 2024 episode of The Kapil Sharma Show, where Kakkar was a guest and found that she did not make any comments about an investment platform or an income source.
The interview can be seen below:
5. Shady Trading Platform Promoted
The fake article ultimately redirects users to a platform called Immediate 600 Folex, a suspicious trading website.
