Saturday, 24 June 2023 | PNS | DEHRADUN
35 fake websites blocked since April: STF
The cyber crime police station of Uttarakhand Special Task Force (STF) arrested two accused from the Sheikhpura district of Bihar for operating fake helicopter service booking websites for the Char Dham Yatra. The STF has also blocked a total of 35 fake websites since the Yatra started in the State, said Ankush Mishra, the deputy superintendent of police of the cyber crime police station, STF. He said that the officials here received complaints via emails regarding a gang reportedly duping people across the country by running fake websites. Considering this, teams were formed to investigate the matter that gathered evidence against the gang and nabbed two of their members- Sunny Raj and Bobby Ravidas on Friday. They were allegedly running a fake website by the name of Himalayan Heli Service and were duping people across the country under the pretext of booking online tickets for helicopter services as executives of genuine websites.
The DSP said that the gang were also using multiple mobile sets, sim cards and bank account numbers to dupe people in the name of ticket booking for helicopter service by making other websites too. He said that the gang has duped several people across the country so far. They have allegedly scammed a resident of Uttarakhand Prakash Chandra Purohit of Rs 61,500, Rajasthan resident Justin Joseph of Rs 33,000, Tamil Nadu resident D.K.S. Murthy of Rs 48,947 and Gujarat resident Ashok Kumar of Rs 30,000 among several others across the country. Talking about the modus operandi of the gang, he said that the members used to get sim cards and mobile sets with fake IDs to set up fake websites and connect them to their WhatsApp. If a person clicked on the website, it took him/her to the application programming interface (API) of Whatsapp Business where they can chat with customers and convince them to make payments for the booking.
Mishra said that the police are looking into their crimes and are working towards nabbing the remaining gang members. He said the STF is monitoring online platforms to keep an eye on potential fake websites that can dupe pilgrims and is taking action against them accordingly. STF has blocked 35 fake websites so far which were identified as fake by the cyber crime police. He said that the government has made the Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) an official partner for the booking of helicopter service for the Char Dham Yatra and people should not use other websites for bookings. He said that many scammers have started making fake websites appearing similar to the official IRCTC website and people need to be more cautious while making any online transactions for such services.
