Anyone who encounters a fraudulent site or advertisement is urged to report it immediately via the portal or by calling 1930
New Delhi: The Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C) has issued a nationwide alert warning Char Dham pilgrims and tourists of a surge in online booking scams, the Union Home Ministry announced on Saturday. Fraudsters are using professional‐looking but counterfeit websites, fake social‑media pages, Facebook posts and paid advertisements on search engines to dupe travellers into booking non‑existent services.
Scammers are advertising helicopter rides to Kedarnath, guest‑house and hotel reservations for the Char Dham circuit, online taxi bookings, holiday packages and religious tours. Victims who make payments via these portals often receive no confirmation, and the contact numbers provided go dead once the money is transferred.
The Home Ministry advises travellers to verify site authenticity before making any payments, avoid unknown “sponsored” links on Google, Facebook or WhatsApp, and cross‑check all bookings through official government portals or reputable travel agencies. Genuine helicopter bookings for Kedarnath should be made at heliyatra.irctc.co.in, while the Somnath Trust’s website (somnath.org) offers secured guest‑house reservations.
To combat these scams, I4C is exchanging “scam signals” with IT intermediaries such as Google, WhatsApp and Facebook for proactive detection, identifying cyber‑fraud hotspots and liaising with state and UT authorities, and disabling fake websites, ads and impersonating social‑media accounts. The Centre is also enhancing the National Cybercrime Reporting Portal (cybercrime.gov.in) with suspect‑checking and streamlined reporting features. Anyone who encounters a fraudulent site or advertisement is urged to report it immediately via the portal or by calling 1930.
