The Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) has recently detected and deactivated approximately 2.5 crore suspicious user IDs, which has helped solve the mystery of disappearing tickets on its platform. This action comes in response to persistent complaints about the difficulties faced by genuine passengers in securing tickets, particularly for Tatkal bookings. For a long time, it has been alleged that these tickets are quickly snatched up by agents using illegal software and multiple IDs.

The deactivation of these "bogus" IDs is a significant step towards curbing fraudulent activities and ensuring fair access to tickets for the general public. The misuse of the IRCTC platform has been a long-standing issue, with instances of touts exploiting loopholes to create artificial demand and resell tickets at inflated prices. This not only inconveniences passengers but also undermines the integrity of the railway ticketing system.

The vigilance department of the Western Railway (WR) recently unearthed a ticketing racket where a tout misused the IRCTC website through cloning software to book multiple tickets in order to create a fake demand for tickets and later sell those off in the black market. The fraud managed to break into the IRCTC firewall and generated 973 IRCTC IDs and 3,600 e-tickets worth over ₹6 crore, with the majority of bookings during the summer rush. An FIR has been lodged against the alleged criminal R Mittal from Surat and cases registered under various sections of the Railway Act. The criminal could break into the IRCTC software firewall and had 973 line IRCTC IDs, five high-end routers, five laptops, 54 line tickets on tatkal, and four email addresses. E-tickets worth approximately ₹2.88 crore were booked through Gadar App. Group ticket bookings were also done with a financial trail of around ₹4.50 crore.

Even after eight years since the Tatkal ticket booking scandal using illegal software on the IRCTC portal came to light in New Delhi, Bihar, Tamil Nadu, and other parts of the country, the railways is unable to fully address the portal's vulnerabilities, allowing touts and agents to continue using illegal software to book tickets, particularly on high-demand routes. The Southern railway on Monday announced that 2,003 individual and IRCTC user IDs and 119 agent IDs were blocked, and 10 different illegal software tools used for bulk and Tatkal ticket bookings have been disabled.

To combat these issues, IRCTC has been implementing various measures, including the use of advanced AI technology to detect and block suspicious transactions in real-time. These systems aim to identify and prevent multiple bookings from the same IP address or through VPNs, which are commonly used by agents to circumvent restrictions. Additionally, IRCTC has introduced features that disable ticket booking in less than 60 seconds and implemented various measures to prevent illegal software from transferring data to the IRCTC database.

Despite these efforts, challenges remain. Illegal software continues to evolve, enabling users to bypass Captcha codes and bank OTPs, facilitating bulk and Tatkal ticket bookings. Agents often use multiple windows on computers or laptops, each with different user IDs, to book tickets more efficiently. Passengers continue to complain about frequent IRCTC portal crashes during Tatkal bookings, resulting in ticket unavailability.

To further address e-ticketing fraud, the Railways is considering amendments to the Railways Act, 1989, to include provisions for penalizing those committing such fraud. The proposed amendment suggests a fine of more than two lakh rupees for the offense, though it does not suggest an increase in the three-year jail term for those convicted.

The recent action by IRCTC to deactivate millions of bogus IDs represents a significant step forward in ensuring a more transparent and equitable ticket booking process. However, continuous vigilance and adaptation to emerging fraudulent techniques are essential to maintain the integrity of the system and safeguard the interests of genuine rail passengers.