Fake websites pose new challenge for cyber police

The fraudsters create a genuine looking website of known brand, government bodies, private and nationalised banks

Pune: The Pune city police have registered 25 cases of cheating via fake websites with citizens losing money between ₹10,000 and ₹2 lakh since January 2023 till date. Recently, a citizen was cheated of ₹16,000 by online fraudsters after she logged onto a fake website of Tadoba National Park. Kothrud police station is probing the case filed the public relations professional, cybercrime officials at Shivajinagar said.

The unsuspecting user is induced to pay online and once the payment is done, the customer either never gets the ordered product. (REPRESENTATIVE PIC)

The fraudsters create a genuine looking website of known brand, government bodies, private and nationalised banks. The unsuspecting user is induced to pay online and once the payment is done, the customer either never gets the ordered product or the amount is deducted online from the person’s debit or credit card.

The victim who did not wish to be identified stated that anybody planning a safari in a tiger park of reserve should be careful about websites.

“I lost ₹16,000 while trying to book a safari in Tadoba buffer through a website. The official website of Tadoba is www.mytadoba.org while I did the booking on tadobanationalparkonline.in. However, since I got logged out due to technical reasons, I could not complete booking for two more slots. Later in the evening, when I discussed the issue with my friend, she told me that the website I used to carry out the booking was not genuine and I was duped. I have lodged a case with the cyber cell and investigation is on,” she said.

Pune resident Pramod Laddha who searched for hotels online for his Ujjain visit was cheated of ₹23,000. Laddha wanted to book two rooms and paid ₹23,000 deposit against the booking on March 3 for a website of Mansarovar hotel. His FIR stated that he had downloaded the payment receipt and when he went to check in on March 9, he was denied entry by the manager citing that no such transaction had taken place.

Sriniwas Ghadge, deputy commissioner of police (EOW), said, “Many educated persons are falling victim to such scams. We promptly register cases and ensure that refund is made at the earliest.”

Lawyer Milind Pawar said, “Always visit genuine websites and do due diligence before making any financial transaction. Also call up the concerned number on any website and check reviews posted by previous visitors.”

Preventive steps

Don’t fall prey to discounts, especially on aspirational products like mobile phones, costly shoes, leather accessories, electronic gadgets

Search online credentials of shopping portals

Prefer cash-on-delivery than affront payment, especially for new, untested shopping portals

A fraud shopping site not only cheats through non-delivery of promised products, but also captures debit/credit card credentials and may sell it on dark web.

Don’t make payment using credit/debit card on untested e-commerce sites unless the payment link is taking you to a verified, secure payment gateway