We need to be more vigilant with online transactions

Representative image. Pic/ istock

Dupe season continues with an Andheri family being conned after they booked a chopper ride to a temple in Katra in Jammu and Kashmir. In a report in this paper, a fake website had been created in the name of the Shrine Board.

A family of six paid Rs 20,000 for the yatra. An internet search led the family to a website citing helicopter bookings. The person to contact via phone listed on the website sounded authentic with all information at hand and even sent booking details. Yet, when the family asked for the tickets, they found that the number through which they were communicating was blocked. The authentic shrine board was then contacted and when asked if this particular number on the internet was the board's number, they learnt it was fake. A police complaint has been registered.

Conmen often make similar websites to the originals, only an image or two may be different or the address may be tweaked slightly. It is best to check two or three websites on the internet if a particular organisation has different websites. It is highly unlikely that a trust or board will have two or three websites, only one authentic site.

This is akin to the copies of designer goods we see being passed off as originals. A slight tweak of a logo, or lettering may be enough to dupe the unsuspecting.

Meanwhile, the original and bona fide shrine board must have warnings on its sites to check for authenticity and not be duped by shady, smooth operators.

The police need to crack down quickly as these unscrupulous elements con hundreds of people, operating on ‘volume'. The sum may be small for one person, but they may have made substantial sums as the scale of the operation may be huge. Close in on the cons and shut them down effectively.