IRCTC deactivates over three crore user IDs, suspends 6.33 crore IDs

The Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) announced on Friday, September 11, 2026, that it has permanently deactivated 3.04 crore user accounts and temporarily suspended another 6.33 crore accounts suspected of fraudulent activity. The move targets illegal booking agents who create bulk fake IDs to secure tickets and resell them at inflated prices.

The crackdown, which began in October 2025, has already led to the blocking of 16,041 suspicious email domains and the registration of 592 complaints on the Cyber Crime Portal concerning 4.21 lakh dubious PNR numbers. Anti‑bot technology deployed by a leading tech partner has reduced malicious traffic by 55‑65%, while a new content delivery network has eased the load on the New Generation Ticketing (NGeT) system. On September 7, the portal processed a record 20,06,353 tickets, surpassing the previous year’s high of 18,40,203 tickets booked on August 19, 2025. Daily login volumes now range between 1.33 crore and 1.74 crore, with 17‑20 lakh bookings processed each ARP opening day.

The fraudulent practices involve agents generating large numbers of fake IDs to make bulk reservations, leaving genuine passengers unable to secure seats. To protect legitimate travelers, IRCTC has restricted advanced reservation period (ARP) bookings to Aadhaar‑authenticated users during the first ten minutes of the 8 a.m. window and has intensified efforts to dismantle counterfeit websites and mobile apps. Recent software optimisations, hardware augmentation, and the rollout of a new UI beta featuring glassmorphism design have further bolstered system resilience, ensuring that about 89% of all reservations continue to be booked online despite the heightened demand.