Youth arrested for duping luxury travellers with fake hotel booking websites | Delhi News – Times of India

New Delhi: Police have busted a sophisticated hotel booking scam that targeted unsuspecting travellers looking for luxury vacations. The mastermind, 25-year-old Sharukh Khan from Nuh, Haryana, created fake hotel websites to swindle victims out of their money.According to police, Khan’s modus operandi was deceptively simple but highly effective. He designed counterfeit websites mimicking renowned hotels, complete with realistic images, branding, and enticing offers. One such website—https://thelalitxxlgrxxort.in—was a fake version of the official site of Hotel Lalit Golf & Spa Resort in Goa, police said.Khan promoted these sites online, baiting potential victims with attractive discounts. Once someone attempted to book, he posed as a hotel representative and convinced them to transfer money for reservations.But the scam didn’t stop there. Khan also used forged emails and messages that appeared authentic, complete with copied logos and professional language. “To add credibility, he accepted payments via UPI QR codes, making the transactions appear legitimate. After receiving the money, he would cut off all contact, leaving victims without bookings or refunds,” said a senior police officer.One such victim was a man who had booked a room at the Hotel Lalit Golf & Spa Resort in Goa, only to realise later that he had been duped of Rs 33,000. The man immediately reported the matter to police, who quickly launched an investigation. Following a trail of digital footprints and financial transactions, officers gathered enough evidence to arrest Khan.Police found that the defrauded money had been routed through a merchant bank account, and the fraudulent website had been registered using fake credentials.“The team, led by Inspector Pravesh Kaushik, worked tirelessly to track down Khan, using technical surveillance and digital analysis to identify his location. Finally, after several raids, Khan was arrested in Mewat, Haryana, and two mobile phones used in the crime were recovered from his possession,” said DCP (southwest) Amit Goel.As the police dug deeper, they discovered that Khan had been operating alone, but had arranged the fake websites through a co-accused, Naseem. Efforts are now being made to apprehend Naseem, police said.