'Ghost' hotels in Puri: Booking hotel room online? Beware of cyber fraudsters!

If you are booking hotels in Puri online, think twice before confirming the booking because cyber fraudsters have become active in this tourist season, setting their eyes on gullible people.

One such easy target of these fraudsters is Rakesh Haldar, a devotee of Lord Jagannath from West Bengal. 

Haldar visits Puri every year to have darshan of Lord Jagannath. But this year, he had a bitter experience. While coming to Puri on a train, he was searching for hotels to book a room when he received a WhatsApp message. He also received a video of Hotel Swarna Deep on the New Marine Drive Road in the holy town. He then talked with a person on a number provided and booked a room for five days. 

He made a payment of Rs 8,000 and Rs 8,830 through PhonePe. When landed in Puri, he realised that he had been taken for a ride as there is no hotel in Puri sharing the name of the hotel he had booked. He then lodged a complaint at the Cyber police station. 

“I received a video in my WhatsApp number about a hotel named Swarna Deep Holiday Home. When I contacted on the number given, a female picked up from the other side. As I was asked, I made payment of the money. But there is no such hotel in Puri,” said Haldar. 

Similarly, Cyber fraudsters are also duping tourists in the name of Neeladri Bhakta Niwas, which is under the Shree Jagannath Temple Administration (SJTA). 

“Tourists are being harassed in Puri. As a tourist, I want to advise others to book hotels after making necessary inquiries,” said Nirmal Mukherjee, a West Bengal tourist. 

Such complaints of tourists from out of the state and the country are reported time and again. And, this has become a cause of concern for Puri Hotel Association. 

“Despite awareness, people are falling prey to cyber fraudsters. And it ultimately hampers our industry,” said Rajkishore Patra, secretary of Puri Hotel Association. 

“The crime can be checked to some extent if punishment is handed out to fraudsters. So, the police should make an effort in this regard,” observed a tour operator Jugabrat Kar.

When contacted over his phone, IIC of Cyber Cell Soumendra Tripathy said, “Those who are booking hotels are not doing it properly. They randomly pick up a number from Google and make payments. This is why they are being duped. I would like to advise them to visit the personal websites of the hotels and without making UPI payment they should deposit in the bank accounts of their preferred hotels.”