Bhubaneswar: Ahead of the July 16 Rath Yatra in Puri, state crime branch has launched a major crackdown on fraudulent hotel booking websites, blocking 50 such fake platforms in the past week. The move comes amid surging demand for accommodation ahead of the festival, when lakhs of devotees are expected to throng the pilgrim city.“Our social media patrolling team detected 50 fake booking sites and facilitated their blocking over the past seven days,” IGP (crime branch) Sarthak Sarangi said. These portals were designed to dupe unsuspecting visitors with attractive rates, VIP darshan and advance payment demands.According to crime branch officials, the fraudsters typically clone legitimate hotel websites or create convincing replicas that appear prominently in online search results. They lure devotees with unrealistically low tariffs and insist on full advance payments via UPI or digital wallets.Complaints have been pouring into the cyber crime helpline 1930, supplemented by alerts from hoteliers and govt agencies. “We strongly advise visitors to verify the authenticity of booking platforms and rely only on official hotel websites or recognised travel portals. Devotees should cross-check hotel contact details, avoid paying the entire amount upfront, and be wary of deals that look too good to be true,” Sarangi cautioned.Police sources revealed that at least 30 tourists lost nearly Rs 5 lakh in the past one year to such scams during online hotel bookings in Odisha. Of them, four devotees have been duped of about Rs 35,000 in the last fortnight alone.With Rath Yatra drawing closer, police fear the scale of fraud could escalate if preventive measures are ignored.“We apprehend these incidents will rise during the festival season unless people exercise caution. Our appeal to hoteliers is to remain vigilant and report suspicious activity immediately. Tourists must remember that cyber fraudsters thrive on urgency and faith — two elements that peak during Rath Yatra,” another police officer said.The crime branch has intensified cyber patrolling and urged devotees to use the helpline to report suspicious sites. Officials said awareness campaigns will be stepped up in the coming days to protect pilgrims from falling prey to online fraud.
