2.5 Crore Fake IDs Uncovered in IRCTC Ticket Scam

Quick Summary

• Issue: IRCTC detected artificial scarcity of railway tickets caused by fraudulent activities.
• Findings: Over the past five months (January-May), IRCTC identified:

– 2.9 lakh suspicious PNRs during ticket booking within five minutes of window opening.
– Deactivation of 2.5 crore suspected user IDs.
– Revalidation process initiated for over 20 lakh user IDs.

• Action Taken:

– Filing of 134 complaints on the national cybercrime portal regarding misuse and fraud.
– Blocking over 6,800 disposable email domains used in scams involving ticket purchases at inflated rates.

• Technology Measures:

– Implementation of anti-BOT applications and advanced security systems to prevent automated bulk bookings by bots or scripts.

• Performance Milestone: IRCTC achieved record-breaking per minute booking-31,814 tickets on May 22, possibly aided by technological improvements increasing “attempt versus booking” ratio from ~43% to ~62%.
• Passenger Advisory: Officials caution against travel platforms promising confirmed tickets or charging premiums,stating actual constraints in seat availability persist.

!Image related to vanishing rail ticket dilemma

Indian Opinion Analysis

The detection and crackdown on fraudulent activities by IRCTC highlight the systemic challenges faced due to high demand for railway reservations in India. With peak-season routes experiencing disproportionately swift bookings driven partly by automation bots or unscrupulous middlemen using disposable IDs, the measures taken could substantially protect genuine passengers from exploitation.

While proactive technical innovations like anti-BOT software have improved operational efficiency exemplified in the newly recorded booking milestone, underlying issues such as limited train capacity and high passenger demand remain pressing concerns. This underscores a larger need for infrastructure advancement,including increased frequency of trains during peak seasons and better scalability solutions within digital frameworks.

The broader implication here revolves around fostering public trust-in safeguarding access while simultaneously addressing gaps caused by systemic vulnerabilities like overcrowding-and ensuring equitable pricing mechanisms that eliminate premium-heavy intermediaries affecting affordability for ordinary travelers.

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