By News On Air Apr 19, 2025
The Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C), under the Ministry of Home Affairs today issued a public alert regarding online booking frauds, particularly those targeting religious pilgrims and tourists across the country.
The Ministry in a statement said that people have been advised to exercise extreme caution and always verify the authenticity of websites before making any payments. People are warned to exercise caution while clicking on sponsored or unknown links on Google, Facebook, or WhatsApp.
The Ministry further urged public to cross-check bookings only through official government portals or trusted travel agencies. In case of any fraud, citizens are advised to report incidents immediately on the National Cybercrime Reporting Portal www.cybercrime.gov.in or by calling the helpline number 1930.
The Ministry also clarified that helicopter bookings for Kedarnath can be done only through the official portal www.heliyatra.irctc.co.in, while guest house bookings for the Somnath Trust can be made through Trust’s official website.
It said that these frauds are being perpetrated through fake websites, deceptive social media pages, Facebook posts, and paid advertisements on search engines like Google. These scams involve the creation of professional-looking but fake websites and social media profiles and WhatsApp accounts offering services such as helicopter booking for Kedarnath and Char Dham.
To contain such scams, Indian Cybercrime Coordination Centre is taking multi-prolonged strategy. This includes regularly sharing scam signals with IT intermediaries such as Google, WhatsApp, and Facebook for proactive detection. The Centre is also identifying cybercrime hotspots and sensitizing the concerned States and Union Territories.
Fake websites, advertisements, and impersonating social media accounts are being disabled to protect citizens. Additionally, a suspect checking and reporting feature has been developed on the National Cybercrime Reporting Portal to facilitate hassle-free reporting of such frauds.