ATMTravels reports ₹26.5-lakh cyber fraud through ticketing portal

Basheerbagh: Across The Monde Travel & Tours Pvt Ltd has lodged a complaint with the Cyber Crimes police station at Basheerbagh, Hyderabad, alleging unauthorised access to its online travel portal and fraudulent airline ticket issuance worth ₹26.54 lakh.

Complaint by company director

In her written complaint, Sujatha Cecilia Devagiri, 56, director of the firm, stated that between September 14 midnight and September 16, 2025, unidentified persons gained access to the company’s beta-stage travel website, www.atmtravels.com, and issued multiple airline tickets from its stock without authorisation.

The company, licensed by the International Air Transport Association (IATA) and a member of the Travel Agents Association of India (TAAI), holds a joint bank guarantee of ₹1 crore as part of its ticketing arrangement through global distribution systems (GDS) such as Galileo, Indigo, and RIA Connect.

Devagiri said the fraudulent activity was detected on September 16, 2025, around 13.00 IST, following which the firm immediately blocked portal access and cancelled all tickets issued during the breach period. Despite these measures, the firm suffered losses amounting to ₹26,54,165, she said.

Details of fraudulent transactions

The complaint lists more than 30 airline tickets allegedly issued during the breach through carriers such as Turkish Airlines, Indigo, Air India, Fly Dubai, Singapore Airlines, Delta Airlines, Ethiopian Airlines, and APG Airlines.

Tickets were reportedly booked in the names of passengers using foreign email domains (mostly @proton.me addresses) and phone numbers. The transactions covered international routes including Lagos–Istanbul–Riyadh, Abuja–Doha, Delhi–Vancouver, Delhi–Melbourne, and Abidjan–Lagos, among others.

The total fraudulent debit recorded was ₹26,54,165, with no recovery so far, according to the company’s report.

Police action sought

Devagiri requested immediate registration of an FIR under cybercrime provisions, citing unauthorised access, data breach, and financial loss. The complaint has been acknowledged under NCRP number 23709250057212.

Police said a case would be booked under relevant sections of the Information Technology Act and the Indian Penal Code after verification of the transactions and digital logs.