Lok Sabha Question No. 2664 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2025-12-16
Subject: Cyber Fraud Targeting Pilgrims and Tourists
Ministry: HOME AFFAIRS
Asked by: Shri Murari Lal Meena

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF HOME AFFAIRS

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 2664

TO BE ANSWERED ON THE 16 TH  DECEMBER, 2025/ AGRAHAYANA 25, 1947 (SAKA)

CYBER FRAUD TARGETING PILGRIMS AND TOURISTS

†2664. SHRI MURARI LAL MEENA:

Will the Minister of HOME AFFAIRS be pleased to state:

- (a)  whether  the  incidents  of  cyber  fraud  targeting  pilgrims  and  tourists particularly  in  the  name  of  hotel  bookings,  travel  packages  or  donation collections have increased significantly during the recent years;
- (b)  if  so,  the  details  of  cases  registered,  arrests  made  and investigation status from 2022 to 2025, State-wise and year-wise;
- (c)  whether  numerous  fake  websites  and  mobile  numbers  are  being promoted on Google Search, social media and other open platforms in the name  of  religious  and  tourist  destinations  through  which  fraudsters collect money from travellers via UPI or Paytm, if so, the steps taken by the Government in this regard; and
- (d) whether the Government proposes to implement a mandatory system for  verification  and  registration  of  such  online  booking  platforms  and travel agencies?

## ANSWER

MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF HOME AFFAIRS (SHRI BANDI SANJAY KUMAR)

(a) to (d): The  National  Crime  Records  Bureau  (NCRB)  compiles  and publishes the statistical data on crimes in its publication 'Crime in India'. The latest published report is for the year 2023. As per the data published by the  NCRB, State/UT  wise  details of cases  registered,  cases  charge-

## L.S.US.Q.NO. 2664 FOR 16.12.2025

sheeted, cases convicted, persons arrested, persons charge-sheeted and persons convicted under Fraud for Cyber Crimes (involving communication devices as medium/target) during the period from 2022 to 2023  are  at  the  Annexure-I.  Specific  information  related  to  cyber  fraud targeting pilgrims and tourists is not maintained by NCRB.

To  strengthen  the  mechanism  to  deal  with  cyber  crimes  including cyber frauds targeting pilgrims and tourists, the Central Government has taken steps which, inter-alia, include the following:

- i. Ministry of Tourism through its Centralised Public Grievance Redress and Monitoring System (CPGRAMS) portal receives complaints/grievances  related  to  service  delivery,  cheating  etc.  The CPGRAMS  portal  is  available  to  the  citizens  24x7  to  lodge  their grievances  related  to  inappropriate  trade  practices  by  Tourism  & hospitality service providers, including Online Travel Agents.
- ii. To ensure standardized services for tourists, Ministry of Tourism gives recognition  to  different  categories  of  service  providers  in  Travel  & Hospitality industry including Online Travel Agents in accordance with the guidelines issued by the Ministry in each category for a period of 5 years. If Ministry of Tourism approved Travel & Tourism Stakeholders

## L.S.US.Q.NO. 2664 FOR 16.12.2025

are  not  found  to  be  working  in  the  manner  fulfilling  the  required service standards or complaints of serious nature related to deficiency in  services,  irregularities  etc.,  or  it  is  found  that  the  agency  has  got recognition  on  the  basis  of  false  or  fabricated  documents,  etc.,  the Ministry  of  Tourism  may  consider  to  withdraw/terminate/revoke  the recognition granted.

- iii. The 'National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal' (NCRP) (https://cybercrime.gov.in) has been launched, as a part of the Indian Cyber  Crime  Coordination  Centre'  ( I4C),  to  enable  public  to  report incidents pertaining to all types of cyber crimes, with special focus on cyber  crimes  against  women  and  children.  Cyber  crime  incidents reported  on  this  portal,  their  conversion  into  FIRs  and  subsequent action thereon are handled by the State/UT Law Enforcement Agencies concerned as per the provisions of the law.
- iv. The 'Citizen Financial Cyber Fraud Reporting and Management System' (CFCFRMS), under I4C, has been launched in year 2021 for immediate reporting  of  financial  frauds  and  to  stop  siphoning  off  funds  by  the fraudsters.  Till  31.10.2025,  financial  amount  of  more  than  Rs.  7,130 Crore has been saved in more than 23.02 lakh complaints. A toll-free Helpline number '1930' has been operationalized to get assistance in lodging online cyber complaints.

- v. 'Sahyog' Portal has been launched to expedite the process of sending notices  to  IT  intermediaries  by  the  Appropriate  Government  or  its agency under clause (b) of sub-section (3) of section 79 of the IT Act, 2000 to facilitate the removal or disabling of access to any information,  data  or  communication  link  being  used  to  commit  an unlawful act. 18 phishing websites related to hotel booking impersonation for Char Dham Yatra, Parmarth Niketan, Somnath, etc. have  been  disabled  under  section  79  (3)(b),  of  IT  Act,  2000.  Shree Somnath Trust and I4C have identified and taken down more than 75 fake websites and advertisements impersonating the Trust.
- vi. An advisory was published by I4C, MHA to alert the public about online booking  frauds,  especially  those  targeting religious pilgrims  and tourists  across  the  country  on  19.04.2025  through  Press  Information Bureau (PIB) .

*****

State/UT-wise Cases Registered(CR), Cases Chargesheeted (CCS), Cases Convicted(CON), Persons Arrested(PAR), Persons Chargesheeted (PCS) and Persons Convicted(PCV) under Fraud (Sec. 420 r/w Sec.465, 468/471 IPC r/w IT Act) for Cyber  Crimes (involving communication devices as medium/target) during 2022-2023

| SL   | State/UT                   | 2022   | 2022   | 2022   | 2022   | 2022   | 2022   | 2023   | 2023   | 2023   | 2023   | 2023   | 2023   |
|------|----------------------------|--------|--------|--------|--------|--------|--------|--------|--------|--------|--------|--------|--------|
| SL   | State/UT                   | CR     | CCS    | CON    | PAR    | PCS    | PCV    | CR     | CCS    | CON    | PAR    | PCS    | PCV    |
| 1    | Andhra Pradesh             | 984    | 69     | 2      | 141    | 125    | 3      | 909    | 77     | 0      | 75     | 90     | 0      |
| 2    | Arunachal Pradesh          | 0      | 2      | 0      | 2      | 2      | 0      | 0      | 0      | 0      | 0      | 0      | 0      |
| 3    | Assam                      | 16     | 1      | 0      | 3      | 1      | 0      | 0      | 0      | 0      | 0      | 0      | 0      |
| 4    | Bihar                      | 1441   | 829    | 2      | 1311   | 907    | 2      | 2611   | 1540   | 2      | 1899   | 1877   | 9      |
| 5    | Chhattisgarh               | 42     | 19     | 0      | 37     | 37     | 0      | 29     | 10     | 0      | 11     | 11     | 0      |
| 6    | Goa                        | 11     | 0      | 0      | 0      | 0      | 0      | 0      | 0      | 0      | 0      | 0      | 0      |
| 7    | Gujarat                    | 108    | 43     | 0      | 93     | 86     | 0      | 112    | 32     | 0      | 88     | 70     | 0      |
| 8    | Haryana                    | 44     | 28     | 0      | 62     | 60     | 0      | 11     | 6      | 0      | 16     | 16     | 0      |
| 9    | Himachal Pradesh           | 9      | 0      | 0      | 2      | 0      | 0      | 7      | 5      | 0      | 0      | 6      | 0      |
| 10   | Jharkhand                  | 98     | 53     | 0      | 85     | 123    | 0      | 43     | 21     | 0      | 21     | 21     | 0      |
| 11   | Karnataka                  | 0      | 0      | 0      | 0      | 0      | 0      | 0      | 0      | 0      | 0      | 0      | 0      |
| 12   | Kerala                     | 26     | 2      | 0      | 9      | 2      | 0      | 117    | 3      | 0      | 15     | 4      | 0      |
| 13   | Madhya Pradesh             | 180    | 36     | 4      | 83     | 78     | 9      | 91     | 18     | 6      | 52     | 47     | 7      |
| 14   | Maharashtra                | 2202   | 168    | 0      | 425    | 254    | 0      | 2075   | 276    | 0      | 565    | 449    | 0      |
| 15   | Manipur                    | 0      | 0      | 0      | 0      | 0      | 0      | 0      | 0      | 0      | 0      | 0      | 0      |
| 16   | Meghalaya                  | 0      | 0      | 0      | 0      | 0      | 0      | 0      | 0      | 0      | 0      | 0      | 0      |
| 17   | Mizoram                    | 0      | 0      | 0      | 0      | 0      | 0      | 0      | 0      | 0      | 0      | 0      | 0      |
| 18   | Nagaland                   | 0      | 0      | 0      | 0      | 0      | 0      | 0      | 0      | 0      | 0      | 0      | 0      |
| 19   | Odisha                     | 957    | 62     | 0      | 87     | 106    | 0      | 1362   | 75     | 0      | 139    | 160    | 0      |
| 20   | Punjab                     | 61     | 6      | 0      | 43     | 13     | 0      | 25     | 16     | 1      | 27     | 18     | 2      |
| 21   | Rajasthan                  | 292    | 47     | 13     | 70     | 71     | 13     | 84     | 9      | 0      | 18     | 17     | 0      |
| 22   | Sikkim                     | 0      | 0      | 0      | 0      | 0      | 0      | 0      | 0      | 0      | 0      | 0      | 0      |
| 23   | Tamil Nadu                 | 251    | 21     | 0      | 78     | 31     | 0      | 887    | 14     | 0      | 46     | 26     | 0      |
| 24   | Telangana                  | 9581   | 1786   | 34     | 1730   | 2974   | 46     | 10626  | 1760   | 6      | 505    | 3757   | 6      |
| 25   | Tripura                    | 0      | 0      | 0      | 0      | 0      | 0      | 0      | 0      | 0      | 0      | 0      | 0      |
| 26   | Uttar Pradesh              | 766    | 151    | 74     | 227    | 202    | 87     | 287    | 86     | 0      | 63     | 123    | 0      |
| 27   | Uttarakhand                | 31     | 13     | 0      | 14     | 15     | 0      | 18     | 19     | 0      | 19     | 24     | 0      |
| 28   | West Bengal                | 30     | 1      | 0      | 27     | 2      | 0      | 7      | 3      | 0      | 6      | 3      | 0      |
|      | TOTAL STATE(S)             | 17130  | 3337   | 129    | 4529   | 5089   | 160    | 19301  | 3970   | 15     | 3565   | 6719   | 24     |
| 29   | A&N Islands                | 0      | 0      | 0      | 0      | 0      | 0      | 0      | 0      | 0      | 0      | 0      | 0      |
| 30   | Chandigarh                 | 2      | 0      | 0      | 0      | 0      | 0      | 0      | 0      | 0      | 0      | 0      | 0      |
| 31   | D&N Haveli and Daman & Diu | 0      | 0      | 0      | 0      | 0      | 0      | 0      | 0      | 0      | 0      | 0      | 0      |
| 32   | Delhi                      | 331    | 51     | 0      | 249    | 119    | 0      | 163    | 31     | 7      | 85     | 61     | 11     |
| 33   | Jammu & Kashmir            | 7      | 3      | 0      | 0      | 5      | 0      | 2      | 0      | 0      | 0      | 0      | 0      |
| 34   | Ladakh                     | 0      | 0      | 0      | 0      | 0      | 0      | 0      | 0      | 0      | 0      | 0      | 0      |
| 35   | Lakshadweep                | 0      | 0      | 0      | 0      | 0      | 0      | 0      | 0      | 0      | 0      | 0      | 0      |
| 36   | Puducherry                 | 0      | 0      | 0      | 0      | 0      | 0      | 0      | 0      | 0      | 0      | 0      | 0      |
|      | TOTAL UT(S)                | 340    | 54     | 0      | 249    | 124    | 0      | 165    | 31     | 7      | 85     | 61     | 11     |
|      | TOTAL (ALL INDIA)          | 17470  | 3391   | 129    | 4778   | 5213   | 160    | 19466  | 4001   | 22     | 3650   | 6780   | 35     |

Source: 'Crime in India' published by NCRB.