Dehradun, March 27 -- Special Task Force (STF) of Uttarakhand Police has cautioned pilgrims against fraudulent social media pages offering helicopter bookings for the upcoming Char Dham Yatra, particularly for Kedarnath Temple, after detecting several fake accounts impersonating Pawan Hans Limited. SSP (STF ) Ajai Singh on Thursday said the issue was discussed during a virtual meeting held on Thursday between the STF Uttarakhand and the Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C), New Delhi. The meeting was conducted as part of efforts to prevent cyber fraud targeting pilgrims planning to undertake the annual pilgrimage. He said preliminary findings indicate that cyber criminals have created fraudulent pages and accounts on Meta Platforms platforms, particularly Facebook, posing as official pages of Pawan Hans Limited and offering helicopter services for Kedarnath. "These fake pages are being used to lure devotees into making advance payments for helicopter bookings. Unsuspecting pilgrims are then cheated through fraudulent links, fake websites and mobile numbers," an STF official said. Investigations have also suggested that many of the cyber fraud networks behind such scams are operating from Bihar, where perpetrators allegedly run organised rackets targeting pilgrims across the country during the Char Dham Yatra season. During the meeting, officials from the STF and I4C decided to intensify monitoring of social media platforms to identify and remove fake pages and accounts linked to the scam. Authorities also resolved to coordinate with Meta to ensure prompt blocking or takedown of such fraudulent accounts. Singh said last year, 156 fraudulent websites/pages were blocked. Moreover, 35 WhatsApp accounts and 126 bank accounts were also blocked in the same year. In addition, suspicious mobile numbers and bank accounts used in these frauds will be kept under surveillance and legal action will be initiated against those involved, he said. The STF also announced that a comprehensive cyber awareness campaign will be launched to alert pilgrims and the general public about such online scams before the peak yatra season begins. Police have appealed to devotees to book helicopter services for Kedarnath and other Char Dham shrines only through authorised websites and official booking platforms. Officials also advised pilgrims to use the official WhatsApp number 8394833833 for information related to Char Dham Yatra registration. By sending the message "Yatra" to the number, users can access online assistance and links to the authentic registration portal. "Devotees should avoid making payments through unknown links, social media pages or mobile numbers claiming to offer helicopter bookings," he said....