Traveling via Indian Railways is a common experience for many of us, whether it’s for vacations, leisure, or work. However, securing a ticket, especially through the Tatkal system, has turned into a daunting task. Tickets can sell out within minutes, often resulting in cancelled plans and rescheduling. What many may not know is that a scam surrounding Tatkal ticket bookings has come to light on the Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) platform.
Daily at 10 AM, millions of travelers rush to book Tatkal tickets. Unfortunately, this urgent solution has become a chaotic race, with website crashes, frozen pages, and seats rapidly disappearing. Reports indicate that between January and May 2025, IRCTC identified 290,000 suspicious Passenger Name Records (PNRs) created within minutes of the booking window opening. As a response, officials deactivated an astounding 25 million user IDs and flagged an additional 2 million for review, many linked to agents exploiting system vulnerabilities.
To Deal With Tatkal Ticket Scam, IRCTC Is Deploying Anti-Bot Technology
Fraudsters frequently use temporary email addresses to create multiple fake accounts, circumventing IRCTC’s security measures. Authorities have blocked over 6,800 domains, and the national cybercrime portal has received 134 complaints. This disclosure has shed light on the scale of the problem, offering some relief to regular passengers who suspected foul play.
Originally designed to assist travelers in urgent need, the Tatkal system has fallen victim to bots and illegal booking software like “Nexus” and “Super Tatkal.” These tools can surpass human booking speeds, leaving genuine passengers often waitlisted within moments. LocalCircles found that 73% of users got waitlisted within the first minute of booking. And 30% resorted to agents.
To combat this growing issue, IRCTC is deploying anti-bot technology and collaborating with a leading content delivery network, promising to improve the experience for genuine customers. Recent data shows that on May 22, 2025, IRCTC achieved its highest per-minute booking rate of 31,814 tickets, with the booking success ratio rising from 43.1% to 62.2% from October 2024 to May 2025. This indicates progress towards a fairer, more efficient system for travelers.
