Cyber crooks take Vaishno Devi pilgrims from Ludhiana for a ride

Tribune News Service

Nikhil Bhardwaj

Ludhiana, April 3

Amid the ongoing Navratra rush at the Vaishno Devi shrine, several residents of the district have fallen prey to cyber criminals by receiving fake tickets for a helicopter ride from Katra helipad to Sanjichhat.

The victims realise they have been duped once they reach the Katra helipad and are told by the officials there that the tickets are fake. The residents have filed complaints in this regard with the Katra police.

Modus operandi

• Scamsters make fake websites and jack up search rankings by paying hefty fee to the search engine
• Pilgrims follow links that pop up after they make online search for Katra-Sanjichhat chopper tickets
• A WhatsApp call is received from suspects posing as shrine board employees, sharing bank details for transfer
• Unsuspecting pilgrims transfer money; fake tickets are sent to pilgrims’ WhatsApp number

50-60 plaints daily

• An official of the SMVDSB’s protocol office, said their call centre daily received 50 to 60 complaints of fake helicopter tickets

Sumit, who owns a restaurant here, said last week he made an online search for helicopter tickets for his family. After following a link, he got a WhatsApp call from a person posing as an employee of Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Board (SMVDSB). He shared a Punjab National Bank account number created in the name of the board. The unsuspecting businessman transferred Rs 32,300, following which “tickets” were sent to his WhatsApp number.

On reaching the helipad the next day, they learnt the tickets were fake, claimed Sumit. They tried calling the WhatsApp number, but to no avail. Finally, they had to buy fresh tickets.

Mohit Singhi, a Khanna resident, claimed he also booked two tickets after making an online search and transferred Rs 3,400 to the account provided by the caller. A rude shock awaited them when they went to take the ride.

Book via official website: shrine Board

Pilgrims should only visit shrine board website www.maavaishnodevi.org or official app for bookings. The board never make calls to ticket-seekers. —Ramesh Kumar, CEO, Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Board

Talking to The Tribune, an official of the SMVDSB’s protocol office, said their call centre daily received 50 to 60 complaints of fake helicopter tickets, with a monthly average of 1,500 complaints from across the country.

“Most people do not file complaints. We send every complaint to the cyber cell of the Jammu police. Recently, a gang of four was also arrested. We have even got 30 websites removed from the search engine. Still, a number of websites with domain names similar to the shrine come up. Scamsters jack up their online ranking by paying hefty fee to the search engine,” said an official. Several NRIs are among those duped by the cyber crooks.

Another official asserted the SMVDSB had not given the rights of helicopter ticket sale to any private travel agent or website. “Pilgrims should only visit SMVDSB’s website www.maavaishnodevi.org or official mobile app for bookings. All other websites with similar names are fake. The board never make calls to ticket-seekers,” said Ramesh Kumar, chief executive officer, SMVDSB.

The CEO added a mass awareness drive against such cyber criminals had dalready been launched. Posters and billboards had been put up at various places in Katra and in the vicinity of the shrine. Alerts were also being flashed during the live telecast of ‘aarti’, he added.

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