IndiGo asks flyers not to share PNR on social media after techie conned by cyber thugs
Noida, Jan 31: Budget carrier IndiGo on Wednesday cautioned flyers against sharing their PNR number on social media or to unauthorised people in light of an incident in which flight tickets of eight passengers were cancelled without consent.
The Noida-based software engineer had reportedly shared ticket details, including the PNR, on social media platform X and the airline believes that is when cyber thugs took him for a ride.
The techie was travelling from Thiruvananthapuram to Delhi on January 7 and had booked eight tickets at around Rs 72,000.
He reportedly shared on X a purported screenshot of the web check-in process, and tagged IndiGo to ask "Why forced to web check in? If it is mandatory, why should I pay additional charges?"
"If auto-assignment stopped and I have 8 passengers on my PNR, why is the portal forcing me to pay an additional amount for all eight seats?" he added.
Later, a conversation took place between the techie and an IndiGo representative over direct messages (DM), whose screenshots were also shared by him.
He claimed that he was asked for the PNR by an IndiGo official which he shared it at 1.27 am and at 1.38 am he was informed by the customer care that his tickets had been cancelled.
"Without my confirmation or consent you can't cancel my ticket. Reinstate my ticket as my money is not for charity for your staff's mistake. @DGCAIndia @JM_Scindia my flight is in 6 hours and I am being harassed," the techie said in another post.
Responding to his post, IndiGo said: "We have put forth our utmost effort to assist you, sir. We would recommend refraining from sharing personal details on social media. We look forward to the opportunity to welcome you on board for your future travel with us."
After looking into the details of the episode, IndiGo on Wednesday said the passenger was duped by cybercriminals. The airline added that as a gesture of goodwill, it has offered the passenger a waiver of the cancellation fee on the original tickets.
"We are aware of an incident involving an IndiGo customer who was defrauded by cybercriminals. The passenger had reached out to the IndiGo team on X (formerly Twitter) with their PNR details visible in the public domain.
"IndiGo's social media team assisted the passenger and advised not to share PNR details in public. However, it seems that a fraudster obtained the passenger's PNR to change the personal details and subsequently cancelled the bookings," IndiGo told PTI in a statement.
IndiGo further said it maintains industry-standard cybersecurity protocols and works constantly to strengthen them. It urged customers not to share their PNR or contact details with any unauthorised person or website or publish it on any public platforms like X.
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Stalin claims DMK secured 1.54 crore votes
Chennai (PTI): DMK president M K Stalin on Tuesday, in a veiled reference to the TVK, claimed that the party that won additional constituencies has gained only 17.43 lakh more votes than the DMK.
He was referring to the April 23 Assembly polls where the DMK and its allies secured 74 seats, with the Dravidian party netting 59 constituencies.
In a statement, Stalin said, "the percentage difference in votes between us and them is just 3.52 per cent," in an apparent reference to the Vijay-led Tamilaga Vettri Kahzagam emerged victorious in the polls, the results of which were announced on Monday.
Claiming that the DMK alliance has secured 1.54 crore votes, Stalin said, "I consider each and every one of your votes as an invaluable token of trust".
Stating that DMK has been in power several times, he said "there is no victory we have not seen and there is no defeat we have not faced".
"Whether in victory or defeat, those who regard them equally and continue their journey toward their ideals are the comrades of the party", he said adding "you are the lifeblood and roots of the movement".
"The harvest of 1.54 crore votes is the fruit of your commitment", he said.
"What return can I offer for your hard work? With the feeling of being the chief worker, we will continue our journey," the DMK chief added.
Stalin said "if we are the ruling party, we will formulate schemes for the people. If we are the opposition party, we will fight for the people's demands. In that regard, now as a strong opposition party, we will continue to work for the people".
Asserting that the DMK will continue the journey of taking forward the policies of the century-old great Dravidian movement, protecting race, language, and nation, the DMK leader said "in our journey, I will not leave anyone behind. We will win again".
