Bengaluru: If you happen to key in ‘Indigo Airlines Bengaluru’ on Google search and contact the cellphone number provided for air ticket assistance, you may be cheated of your hard-earned money with a promise of fat discounts on fares.
Online fraudsters posing as IndiGo’s internet booking staff and effectively using search engine optimisation (SEO) have conned many Bengalureans, especially senior citizens, of lakhs of rupees by offering discounted air tickets from Bengaluru to various destinations in the country. They have also duped individuals seeking refunds. While a few of the victims have approached police with complaints, many have chosen to share their plight through online reviews. Queries by Bengaluru victims to IndiGo Airlines to take down the Google search result haven’t been fruitful.
In mid-April, IT professional Aparna Murali was trying to make a bulk booking for her parents and their friends who had planned to go on pilgrimage to Uttarakhand. “I was looking for a discount as we wanted 46 tickets. I browsed online and found IndiGo Airlines had an office on Richmond Road with 070049 32719 as the contact number. I dialled it and the receiver confirmed it was IndiGo’s office and spelled out the fares and airline policies,” recalled the techie.
An unsuspecting Murali, who provided her debit card details and even divulged the OTPs generated, had no idea she was about to be conned. “He told me a link would be sent to my phone as a text for ticket concession, which I later realised were OTPs,” lamented Murali, who lost Rs 10,800 from her bank account.
The woman techie is not the only victim of this well-orchestrated online fraud in IndiGo’s name. “The man spoke only in Hindi and kept calling back. He trapped me by offering an attractive ticket package. I thought it was genuine as his caller ID displayed IndiGo Airlines and so did his WhatsApp display image,” said Bhaskar P who lost Rs 22,000 to the scamsters.
It’s a well-oiled racket with cyber criminals using SEO and pinning a Richmond Road location on Google Maps as IndiGo’s Bengaluru office. The optimisation has been crafted online to make sure the browsing results of IndiGo Airlines, Bengaluru will land victims in the fraudsters’ net.
02/05/19 Times of India
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Online fraudsters posing as IndiGo’s internet booking staff and effectively using search engine optimisation (SEO) have conned many Bengalureans, especially senior citizens, of lakhs of rupees by offering discounted air tickets from Bengaluru to various destinations in the country. They have also duped individuals seeking refunds. While a few of the victims have approached police with complaints, many have chosen to share their plight through online reviews. Queries by Bengaluru victims to IndiGo Airlines to take down the Google search result haven’t been fruitful.
In mid-April, IT professional Aparna Murali was trying to make a bulk booking for her parents and their friends who had planned to go on pilgrimage to Uttarakhand. “I was looking for a discount as we wanted 46 tickets. I browsed online and found IndiGo Airlines had an office on Richmond Road with 070049 32719 as the contact number. I dialled it and the receiver confirmed it was IndiGo’s office and spelled out the fares and airline policies,” recalled the techie.
An unsuspecting Murali, who provided her debit card details and even divulged the OTPs generated, had no idea she was about to be conned. “He told me a link would be sent to my phone as a text for ticket concession, which I later realised were OTPs,” lamented Murali, who lost Rs 10,800 from her bank account.
The woman techie is not the only victim of this well-orchestrated online fraud in IndiGo’s name. “The man spoke only in Hindi and kept calling back. He trapped me by offering an attractive ticket package. I thought it was genuine as his caller ID displayed IndiGo Airlines and so did his WhatsApp display image,” said Bhaskar P who lost Rs 22,000 to the scamsters.
It’s a well-oiled racket with cyber criminals using SEO and pinning a Richmond Road location on Google Maps as IndiGo’s Bengaluru office. The optimisation has been crafted online to make sure the browsing results of IndiGo Airlines, Bengaluru will land victims in the fraudsters’ net.
02/05/19 Times of India
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