GUWAHATI: The Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C), operating under the Ministry of Home Affairs, issued a public warning on Saturday, April 19 over a surge in online booking scams targeting religious pilgrims and tourists. These frauds are being executed through fake websites, deceptive social media profiles, Facebook posts, and paid advertisements on search engines, particularly Google.
Fraudsters are creating professional-looking online platforms offering services such as helicopter bookings for Kedarnath and the Chaar Dhaam pilgrimage, guest house and hotel reservations for pilgrims, online cab and taxi bookings, and packages for holidays and religious tours. Many victims realise they have been conned only after making payments and receiving no confirmation. Contact numbers shared on these platforms often become unreachable once the transaction is completed.
The Centre has urged the public to remain vigilant when making bookings online. Authorities have advised users to verify the authenticity of websites and avoid engaging with unknown or sponsored links on Google, Facebook, or WhatsApp. All bookings should be cross-checked through official government portals or trusted travel agencies. Any suspicious activity or fraud can be reported at the National Cybercrime Reporting Portal (www.cybercrime.gov.in) or through the helpline number 1930.
The Centre has shared official links such as https://www.heliyatra.irctc.co.in for Kedarnath helicopter bookings and https://somnath.org for Somnath Trust services, including guest house reservations.
The I4C is employing a multi-pronged strategy. Scam signals are being shared regularly with digital intermediaries like Google, WhatsApp, and Facebook to enable early detection. Cybercrime hotspots are being identified and relevant states and union territories are being engaged.
Furthermore, Cyber patrolling is underway to disable fake websites, advertisements, and impersonating social media accounts. The reporting process has also been simplified through a suspect-checking feature on the National Cybercrime Reporting Portal.
