I4C issues nationwide alert as cyber fraud hits pilgrims with false bookings

New Delhi: The Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C) under the Home Ministry has given a countrywide alert following a sharp increase in online booking frauds targeting growing numbers of religious pilgrims and tourists across India. The frauds are being carried out by professionally made lookalike websites, spoofed social media profiles, and search engine pay-per-click advertisements on Google. Fraudsters have been enticing unsuspecting pilgrims with tempting deals for helicopter bookings to Kedarnath and the Chaar Dhaam, guest house and hotel stays around temples, online taxi services, and religious tour packages. The victims realise they have been conned only when no service is provided after payment, and all contact with the service provider is lost. The scam has gained such momentum that a number of high-profile cases have surfaced. The Millennium Post had earlier reported a similar case of BJP leader Vijay Jolly’s group, the ‘Delhi Study Group’, which was the victim of such cyber fraud in Ayodhya. The group were allegedly deceived by a cloned website of a popular Dharamshala, which led them to pay in advance for non-existent rooms. The episode sparked fears of the unregulated proliferation of fake sites targeting faith tourism. To address the increasing threat, the I4C is adopting a multi-faceted approach. Scam alerts are periodically passed on to technology intermediaries such as Google, Facebook, and WhatsApp for pre-emptive identification of suspicious material. Cyber patrolling has also been stepped up, with bogus ads, websites, and impersonated accounts being removed on a regular basis. Law enforcement is also concentrating on mapping cybercrime hotspots in different states and union territories, and local police are being sensitised to enable prompt response and enforcement.

People are being asked to be very cautious while booking online. The ministry has instructed that bookings for services such as Kedarnath helicopter rides must be done only on the official IRCTC portal ([https://www.heliyatra.irctc.co.in](https://www.heliyatra.irctc.co.in)), and official Dharamshala or temple trust websites must be checked before making any payments. For example, Somnath Trust bookings can be safely made at [https://somnath.org](https://somnath.org). The victims or individuals who encounter suspicious sites are to be encouraged to report them through the National Cybercrime Reporting Portal ([www.cybercrime.gov.in](https://www.cybercrime.gov.in)) or by contacting the helpline number 1930. =A simple check facility for suspects and reporting has also been introduced on the portal in order to enable quick reporting and action.