DC cautions pilgrims against rising online booking scams
With the beginning of the Char Dham Yatra of Kedarnath, Badrinath, Yamunotri and Gangotri, and Hemkund Sahib, pilgrims have reported the surge in fake websites and social media pages offering services in order to dupe them. Frauds are being perpetrated through fake websites, social media pages, Facebook posts and paid advertisements on search engines such as Google. Ludhiana Additional DCP (Crime) Amandeep Singh Brar said people should exercise caution while making any bookings for Char Dham Yatra and only visit the official websites of IRCTC or Uttarakhand Tourism for the purpose.
He said if pilgrims faced any such fraud, they should immediately lodge a complaint at the cyber police station in Ludhiana.
In 2023 and 2024, the Uttarakhand Police had blocked 64 and 12 fake websites, respectively, for offering helicopter and other such services to pilgrims. This year, they have blocked 37 social media pages that were created to cheat people on the same pretext.
Before the beginning of the yatra, the Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C) of Ministry of Home Affairs’ had also alerted the public about online booking frauds, especially those targeting religious pilgrims and tourists across the country.
“These scams involve using professional-looking but fake websites, social media profiles and WhatsApp accounts to offer helicopter booking services for Kedarnath and Char Dham Yatra besides providing guest house and hotel booking to pilgrims,” an MHA official said.
Notably, unsuspecting individuals, upon making payments through these portals, often realise they have been duped when no confirmation or service is received, and the contact numbers go unreachable. The ministry advised people to exercise extreme caution and always verify the authenticity of websites before making any payments
Even the IRCTC has also highlighted the issue of fake websites/pages deceiving the people. “Only IRCTC HeliYatra website (https://heliyatra.irctc.co.in) is providing online helicopter ticket booking. Suspected fraudulent websites has also been updated on the IRCTC website. Pilgrims should call on MHA toll free No. 1930 to report online cybercrime-related frauds. Agents/touts are not authorised to sell helicopter tickets for Kedarnath Dham from (Sirsi, Phata, Guptkashi and Kedarnath Dham) and for Hemkund Sahib from (Govindghat and Ghagaria).”
