Online hotel booking scam in Odisha: CID nabs 2 fraudsters from Rajasthan

The Criminal Investigation Department of Odisha police arrested two people from Rajasthan for deceiving Odisha-bound tourists by perpetrating an online hotel booking scam.

The CID swung into action and unearthed the scam following a complaint lodged by the Chief Administrator of Sri Jagannath Temple, Puri, said CID officials.

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Fraudsters implicated a false website www.neeladribhaktanivas.in to trap gullible public in the scam. They gave public false assurance of accommodation in Neeladri Bhakta Nivas, Puri and gave mule bank accounts to transfer funds. However, Neeladri Bhakta Nivas authorities were completely unaware of the bookings and eventually received a lot of complaints, said the CID in a statement.

The investigating team, after analysing the transaction details and working upon other digital evidence, had cracked down in Rajasthan and arrested two perpetrators of crime: Aamir Khan (24) and Yusuf (27), natives of the Alwar district of Rajasthan.

Later they were produced at Govindgarh Court, Alwar and after receiving transit remand, they were produced in the Court of Judicial Magistrate First Class-III, Cuttack, under sections-318(4)/319(2)/336 (2)/336(3)/338/340(2)/61(2)/3(5) of BNS R.W Sec 66(C)/66(D) of the Information Technology Act 2000. Later, they were remanded to jail custody after the Court rejected their bail application.

The citizens are requested to beware of fake hotel booking websites and always verify before making any booking of accommodation in unknown places to avoid falling victim to cyber frauds and to report such matters at 1930 Cyber Helpline or at the nearest police station, CID said in an advisory.

Hotel booking scams are rising in Odisha, especially in popular tourist destinations like Puri, Bhubaneswar, Cuttack, etc. Fraudsters create fake websites and social media pages that look genuine, offering cheap rates, urgent deals, and guaranteed bookings, concluded CID officials.