Cyber crime unit blocks 12 fake helicopter booking sites ahead of Char Dham Yatra

Saturday, 04 MAY 2024 | PNS | DEHRADUN

Considering the possibility of cyber scams during the booking of helicopter services for the Char Dhams, the cyber crime police station of Uttarakhand Special Task Force (STF) has blocked 12 fake websites during the past one month. The STF has so far blocked 76 fake websites since last year with the help of the Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (14 C) of the Ministry of Home Affairs. The senior superintendent of police of STF Ayush Agrawal said that fraudsters are committing fraud worth lakhs of rupees in different states of the country in the name of booking helicopter services by creating fake websites. The cyber police station received several cyber fraud complaints in recent years from people belonging to different states in the name of Chardham Yatra helicopter booking service. They lost lakhs of rupees due to such frauds.  The main reason for such fraud is to book helicopter service from random websites found on Google rather than from authentic websites. The people should book helicopter services for Kedarnath from the official website of the Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) or check out the website of the Uttarakhand Civil Aviation Development Authority (UCADA) for helicopter services for other Char Dham shrines. Talking further about the issue, the deputy superintendent of police of STF’s cyber crime unit Ankush Mishra said that the scammers continuously upgrade their methods to scam people. They have started making fake websites appear similar to authentic ones to dupe more people across the country. Since many people do not verify the authenticity of the websites they find on Google before booking helicopter service, they become more prone to be victims of cyber fraud. Last year, the STF’s cyber crime police station blocked 64 fake websites which were being operated from various parts of the country just to dupe pilgrims. The DSP appealed to the public to provide information about such fake service providers including fake websites, web links and mobile numbers to STF. Such details can also be sent on mobile number 9412080875 through WhatsApp or call 1930 for financial fraud, Mishra said.