Dehradun, June 3 -- At least 136 fake websites offering bookings for helicopter ride for the Char Dham Yatra for pilgrims have been shut in five months from January to May, a police official said on Monday. "We are witnessing a shift in the tactics of cybercriminals. Earlier, scammers operated through fake websites. Now, they are leveraging Facebook and Instagram pages, using ad boosts to promote fraudulent helicopter booking links and deceive users," said senior superintendent of police (STF) Navneet Singh Bhullar. In coordination with the Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C), Ministry of Home Affairs, 117 mobile numbers, 35 WhatsApp numbers have also been blocked and 61 bank accounts have been frozen, he said. He further said that 18 such fake websites were shut, 45 Facebook pages were blocked and 20 bank accounts were frozen in 2024. In 2023, 64 fake websites offering chopper service to Char Dhams were blocked. To address this threat, Bhullar said that Deputy Inspector General (Law & Order), Dhirendra Gunjyal, has been appointed as the nodal officer for Meta under Section 79(3)(b) of the Information Technology Act. "Under his supervision, legal notices are being sent to Meta to remove misleading content and ads related to these fake helicopter bookings," Bhullar said. He said, "We are monitoring the cases on a daily basis. Notices are being issued to the concerned social media platforms through nodal officer. We are also actively coordinating with the Ministry of Home Affairs, bank administrators, and telecom service providers for blocking fraudulent phone numbers." Ahead of the beginning of the Char Dham Yatra this year, a special team was constituted under the supervision of deputy superintendent of police (DSP) Ankush Mishra of the state cyber cell. In 2023, the state police began action against fake websites after receiving scores of complaints from pilgrims. According to police, the major reason for such cybercrime is that victims had no information about the authentic website for helicopter service booking. DSP Ankush Mishra of cyber cell said, "They (fraudsters) are exploiting search engine optimisation (SEO) techniques to make their fake websites appear at the top of search results when pilgrims search for booking sites. As a result, those who are unaware of the authentic Char Dham chopper booking websites fall into their trap, click on these links, and unknowingly enter their financial details to make payments. These fraudsters are operating from various parts of the country, including Bihar, Jharkhand, and Haryana," he said. "The only way to curb such cybercrime is spreading awareness among the public. The booking for the Char Dham chopper service should only be made through IRCTC's website," Mishra said. Over 1.9 million people have visited the Char Dham shrines so far since the beginning of yatra on April 30. In 2024, 4.8 million pilgrims visited Char Dham shrines and Hemkund Sahib shrine since the opening of the portals on May 10. Out of 4.8 million pilgrims who visited Char Dham shrines, 1.42 million visited Badrinath, 183722 visited Hemkund Sahib, 1.65 million visited Kedarnath, 0.81 million visited Gangotri Dham and 0.71 million visited Yamunotri Dham....