The Ahmedabad cyber crime division has unearthed a whopping Rs 7.35 lakh ticket booking portal hacking scam, arresting the prime suspect in the case.
According to the cyber police, Karan Natwarlal Chauhan, a resident of Chandkheda, was operating the Global Garner Sales Service Ltd.’s online platform. A complaint was lodged by him with the police, highlighting a significant financial loss due to fraudulent activities he noticed involving his site.
The investigation revealed that Karan Chauhan, who operates Global Garner Sales Service Ltd., reported a disconcerting debit of Rs 7,35,123 from his Easy My Trip wallet account on January 31, 2023. Upon analysing his account statement, Chauhan discovered that the funds were drained through the booking of a staggering 45 air tickets.
What made this case even more audacious was the fact that the purchased tickets were actually utilised by unsuspecting customers in their travel itineraries. Astonishingly, these travellers were found to have boarded international flights to locations such as Dubai and Mauritius, without having undergone the typical web check-in process.
The hackers reportedly exploited the portal to book tickets via multiple mobile numbers, siphoning off a large portion of the payments into accounts controlled by them. Interestingly, only nominal amounts ranging from Rs 1 to Rs 1.5 were retained in the company’s account during the ticket bookings, while the remaining substantial sums were diverted to the hackers’ accounts, ultimately resulting in a loss of Rs. 7.35 lakh.
Chauhan promptly reported the incident to the police on February 3, 2023. The arduous police investigation ultimately culminated in registering an FIR against the accused on August 20. The relentless efforts of the cyber police bore fruit with the arrest of the prime suspect, who is now expected to face legal consequences.
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