Puri: As the grand Rath Yatra festival continues to draw lakhs of devotees and tourists to Puri, the Odisha Police Cyber Safety and Response Team has ramped up its proactive campaign to safeguard pilgrims from emerging cyber threats.
Over the past two days (July 19-20), the team has conducted extensive awareness activities across the holy city, reaching out to pilgrims, tourists, hotel owners, local residents, and other stakeholders. They have disseminated cyber safety messages and distributed awareness materials highlighting common digital frauds that typically spike during the festival season.
The team visited multiple prominent hotels in Puri, sensitising management about prevalent fake hotel booking scams that target unsuspecting visitors. Hotel websites were thoroughly assessed, and necessary advisories were issued to address vulnerabilities and strengthen security measures.
In total, the initiative saw direct interactions with well over 1,400 tourists and pilgrims, during which the team educated them on various cyber frauds and handed out safety pamphlets. Authorities also acted swiftly against fraudulent online platforms, taking down eight fake hotel websites in the last two days.
Additionally, the team registered multiple mobile phone missing complaints on the CEIR portal—four on July 19 and ten on July 20—facilitating efforts to trace and recover the devices.
The Odisha Police has appealed to all devotees and tourists to remain vigilant, strictly follow cyber safety advisories, and verify hotel bookings only through genuine and authorised sources. Officials urged everyone to cooperate with law enforcement to ensure a safe, secure, and cyber-aware Rath Yatra.
