Scamster or Visionary? Decoding Noida’s ‘Cash for Clicks’ Scam

The Quint speaks to Social Trade users and tries to deconstruct the social media ‘scam’.

Anubhav Mittal is a true visionary and he has been wrongfully arrested. He gave people like me, and so many others, the courage to dream. 

Ashutosh Sharma, Social Trade User, Delhi Resident 

Scamster or visionary?

On 2 February 2017, Anubhav Mittal, the 26-year-old owner of Social Trade, a 'digital marketing' web portal, was arrested by the Noida police for a virtual Ponzi scam, with Facebook likes being traded for quick money. Thousands of people have subsequently protested at Jantar Mantar against the 'wrongful arrest' of Mittal, who they believe to be a visionary.

But how did Social Trade work? Was it a ‘scam’? Who are the people who believe they have been scammed? And who are the people who support Anubhav Mittal?

The Business Model of Social Trade

Social Trade is a digital marketing web portal owned by Ablaze Pvt Limited. Speaking to The Quint, one of Social Trade’s users explained that the web portal sold ‘likes’ to companies, individuals and organisations who wanted to promote a webpage, FB page or a YouTube video.

My wife had a business page, which she wanted to promote. Earlier, I sought to promote the page on Facebook, but that was costly for me, coming down to Rs 30 for a ‘like’. I researched extensively and came upon Social Trade, where I was getting cheaper ‘likes’ and a way to earn back my investment. 

Ashutosh Sharma, Social Trade User, Delhi Resident 

Ashutosh is an IT business analyst who lives in Delhi. He invested Rs 57,500 and was promised 6,000 likes on his wife’s Facebook page over the course of one year. What’s the best part according to him?

He could earn back the money by clicking on 125 links every day. He was paid Rs 625 (Rs 5 for a like) and after a tax deduction, around Rs 475 was deposited in his account everyday. All Social Trade payments were made through a NEFT transaction, say users.

Social Trade had various packages starting from Rs 5,750 and either daily, weekly or monthly plans for ‘work’; which meant clicking on a number of links every day. Depending on which plan, the money would be deposited in a user’s bank account. These links could be Facebook pages, blogs, YouTube videos etc, and they would open for 30 seconds or so.

To create a Social Trade account, a user had to pay a sign-up amount, submit KYC documents and bank account details for payment. Sharma signed up on Social Trade with 0 likes on his wife’s Facebook page, and now has 1,800 ‘e-points’ (or ‘likes’).

Absent Links and ‘Boosters’: Hint of a Scam?

But not all Social Trade users had a page or business to promote. So, they either shared their personal Facebook page or trusted their friends to put in a link while registering.

Ramesh S is from Tamil Nadu, but now lives in Bangalore. He heard about Social Trade from his friend and made 5 accounts with the site, investing Rs 3,00,000. He registered with three accounts in December, and two in January, he tells The Quint.

But his accounts were created by his friend, so he admits that he knows nothing about sharing a page with Social Trade for promotion.

Out of six Social Trade investors The Quint spoke to, four confessed to logging in without a link or just copy-pasting their Facebook profile.

Ramesh S clicked 250 links a day, since he got a ‘booster’. A ‘booster’ was an incentive given to Social Trade users if they recruited two more users. More links to click would mean more money every day.

Frenzz Up: Mittal's Indian Facebook Plan

So, what’s 3W Digital? And where does Frenzz Up come in?

According to Social Trade users, Ablaze Pvt Ltd was in a flux in 2016-end. They were changing their business model in accordance with the new regulations brought in by Ministry of Consumer Affairs. While it is difficult to corroborate this reasoning, it would be remiss to mention that on 9 September 2016, the Ministry of Consumer Affairs released new guidelines on Direct Selling and Multi-level Marketing.

And so, Ablaze Pvt Ltd diversified into 3W Digital Pvt Ltd and Intmart Pvt Ltd. One of the main products of 3W Digital Pvt Ltd was Frenzz Up; a Facebook-like social media platform premised on digital media marketing.

Users were informed that their accounts and ‘e points’ would be migrated to Frenzz Up, which is ostensibly where the delay in payments comes in. Until then, all six Social Trade users The Quint spoke to, said their payments were regular.

Jagdish* (name changed), an IT executive in Delhi, has 3 accounts with Social Trade and invested Rs 1,72,000. He says,

I was paid on 4 January. Then they notified on their website that for two weeks, they won’t pay or create new IDs. My last payment was on 23 January, and I was informed that my payment for those two weeks would be on 8 February and 15 February. 

When Did Payments Stop?

Ji, payment time pe nahin aata tha. There either used to be a gap of two-three days or five days. It’s been 20 days since I was last paid. 

Dinesh* (name changed), Meerut resident, Social Trade User

Dinesh is unhappy with Social Trade because he wasn’t informed that he would get Rs 42 per day. Clicking 10 links a day, he was under the impression he’d be paid Rs 50. He invested Rs 5,750 in Social Trade and posted a complaint on ‘Jaago Grahak Jaago’ complaint portal on 19 December 2016.

Social Trade owner, Anubhav Mittal was arrested after two complaints were registered at Noida’s Surajpur and Phase-3 police stations, for not paying them for their investment.

When The Quint spoke to Social Trade users, the longest non-payment period was 45 days. Interestingly though, two of the users said that the company had notified them about non-payment for two weeks since they were ‘changing the business model’.

What are the Complainants (And Mittal’s Supporters) Saying?

On Facebook, there are several ‘Support Anubhav Mittal’ pages. Videos and posts on these pages galvanised into the crowd of people seen in Jantar Mantar; who fiercely believe that Mittal is a visionary who is being unfairly targeted.

Social Trade users told The Quint how they thought of Mittal was a true Indian innovator and how Intmart and Frenzz Up were made as Indian answers to Amazon and Facebook respectively. Those who have complained against Social Trade on ‘Jago Grahak Jago’ are either panicked customers who want a refund or are complaining about delay in payments.

But there are several questions which still remain, out of which, two are the most prominent:

1. It was reported that links on Social Trade were directed to a fake server. This is an aspect of the story which still remains unclear.

2. What is the specific charge of money laundering being investigated by the Enforcement Directorate?

And what do Social Trade users plan on doing until the truth about the ‘scam’ emerges?

I will wait for a week, and then think about filing a police complaint. 

Ramesh S, Bangalore resident, Social Trade User

If Anubhav Mittal is not released, we will do a mass blood donation; not jail bharo. 

Ashutosh Sharma, Delhi resident, Social Trade User