Before they could even pack their bags or set off for their favourite tourist destination, a single click on what appeared to be a legitimate helicopter booking website allegedly cost unsuspecting travellers their money.
The Delhi Police have now arrested three alleged cyber fraudsters accused of operating fake online helicopter booking portals and duping users by posing as genuine travel service providers.
According to Delhi Police, the accused allegedly created and managed fraudulent websites, including “irctc-helicopter.com” and “irctc-heliyatra.com”, which were designed to resemble genuine travel booking portals.
The websites were allegedly promoted through paid advertisements on Meta/Facebook to lure unsuspecting users searching for travel bookings online.
The case came to light after a victim reported being cheated of Rs 20,328 while attempting to book travel services through the fake portals. Following the complaint, FIR was registered under relevant provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita at Cyber Police Station, South District.
A police team conducted the investigation by analysing financial transactions, bank accounts, domain registration records, Gmail accounts, IP logs and technical evidence obtained from Hostinger and Google.
The investigation led police to Omprakash Kumar and Rohit Kumar, who were arrested from Nalanda in Bihar. During questioning, the duo allegedly disclosed the involvement of Shreyansh Tiwari alias Shivam, identified by police as the developer and manager of the fake websites, who was subsequently arrested from Greater Noida in Uttar Pradesh.
The police said the accused were operating an organised interstate cyber fraud network that used fake travel booking portals to deceive victims across the country. After receiving initial payments for bookings, victims were allegedly asked to transfer additional amounts on various pretexts, including refunds, fresh bookings, registration charges and other fabricated reasons. The funds were then routed through mule bank accounts and digital payment channels.
According to investigators, the digital infrastructure used by the accused has been linked to approximately 30 complaints registered on the National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal (NCRP) across different States and Union Territories, involving an estimated cheated amount of around ₹10 lakh. The role of another alleged associate, identified as Anurag of Nalanda, Bihar, is under verification.
The police stated that Omprakash Kumar has a previous involvement in a 2022 cyber fraud case registered in North-West Delhi, while no prior criminal involvement has been reported for Rohit Kumar or Shreyansh Tiwari.
The Delhi Police said further investigation into the organised cyber fraud syndicate was under way.
