- NEW DELHI — The Centre on Saturday alerted the public about online booking
frauds, especially those targeting pilgrims and tourists across the country.
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- The Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C), under the
Ministry of Home Affairs, said such frauds are being perpetrated through fake
websites, deceptive social media pages, Facebook posts and paid advertisements
on search engines like Google.
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- 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 Chaar Dhaam; guest house and
hotel booking for pilgrims; online cab/taxi service bookings; and holiday
packages and religious tours.
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- “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,” said the I4C.
Also read: Fake payment apps: How to identify and stay safe
- People are advised to exercise extreme caution. Always
verify the authenticity of websites before making any payments.
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- “Verify before clicking on ‘sponsored' or unknown links on
Google, Facebook, or WhatsApp. Cross-check bookings only through official
government portals or trusted travel agencies,” said the national cyber centre.
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- To contain the scams, the Indian Cybercrime Coordination
Centre is taking multi-prolonged strategy. Scam Signals are being regularly
exchanged with IT intermediaries like Google, WhatsApp and Facebook for
proactive detection.
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- Cybercrime hotspots are being identified and state/UTs are
being originated are being sensitised, and fake websites/advertisement and
impersonating social media accounts access are being disabled on to protect
citizens.
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- “Suspect checking and Reporting feature on National
Cybercrime Reporting Portal is developed to facilitate hassle-free reporting,”
according to the I4C.
