MADIKERI: Tourists looking to book wildlife safaris at Nagarahole Tiger Reserve online have been cautioned to check the authenticity of websites before paying for their slots. Many visitors have been duped by fake websites and have lost money to online booking fraud.
https://www.nagaraholetigerreserve.com/ is the authorised website where tourists can book wildlife safaris at Nagarahole Tiger Reserve. While a bus safari is priced at Rs 610 per person, jeep safari is priced at Rs 850 per person. An entire jeep can be booked for a group of visitors at Rs 7,500. However, when one searches for Nagarahole booking site online, another fake website pops up.
The fake website -- https://www.nagaraholenationalparkonline.in -- has already duped several tourists. When tourists book their slots through this fake website and make online payments, they do not receive any confirmation voucher even as calls to customer care numbers mentioned on the site go unanswered.
Officials of the Nagarahole Tiger Reserve have filed a complaint with the Kodagu Cyber Crime police against the website. Sources confirmed that a fake website had earlier been reported in January and was taken down. However, another website has now popped up and is suspected to be operated from New Delhi.