IRCTC Ticket Fraud: The Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC), which is the e-ticketing and catering arm of Indian Railways, cautioned its users against fraudulent websites. So, if you are planning to book tickets for any tour package, be alert or you may get duped.
The IRCTC portal offering tour packages recently warned against fraud booking in its name by a fake website.
According to IRCTC, the IT centre of the corporation received two complaints of fraud booking, where unauthorized tickets were found to have been issued in the name of IRCTC. Later, upon investigation, IRCTC found the tickets were booked in the name of the corporation through a fraud website.
As per the report of The Financial Express, IRCTC found the fraud website as irctctour.com. Further investigation revealed that the fake website was also offering tour confirmation vouchers to customers which was exactly same, which IRCTC provides.
Moreover, the voucher included details such as mobile number 9999999999, landline number +91 6371526046 and email id- irctctours2020@gmail.com.
The IRCTC IT Centre has reportedly filed FIRs online as well as from the counter in connection with the matter. Besides, it has warned its users by updating an alert scroll on its tourism website's homepage.
The alert read, “www.irctctour.com is not an official/ authorised website of IRCTC. IRCTC is not responsible for any transactions done on this website.
“It is requested to all to create awareness among the near & dear ones through different modes of communication; in order to stop the fraud activities,” further added the IRCTC scroll.
Recently, on January 21, in one of the biggest crackdowns on illegal ticketing in Indian Railways, the Railway Protection Force (RPF) arrested a software developer, Hamid Ashraf from Jharkhand for his alleged involvement in the illegal ticketing of Indian Railways, said a PTI report.
Ashraf reportedly had links to Pakistan, Bangladesh and Dubai and was also suspected to have involvement in terror financing.