How IRCTC used AI to block fake IDs and stop illegal bookings

IRCTC has blocked over 3.5 crore fake user IDs in the past year using Artificial Intelligence to crack down on unauthorised agents and automated bots misusing the system.

Major crackdown on Fake IDs

IRCTC revealed that railway booking agents were creating multiple fake profiles with disposable email addresses to increase their chances of securing confirmed tickets, putting genuine passengers at a disadvantage.

Booking agents found exploit IRCTC system 

IRCTC used an AI system that spotted suspicious patterns such as repeated booking attempts from throwaway emails or unusual user activity and flagged them before they disrupted the system.

IRCTC took help of AI to detect suspicious booking

IRCTC  reveals that daily new user registrations have also dropped significantly, from nearly 65,000 earlier to just around 12,000, indicating the effectiveness of AI in controlling fake sign-ups.

Significant drop in new registrations

Additionally, IRCTC has blocked over 7,000 disposable email accounts.

Disposable emails blocked by thousands

The new system has also prevented booking overload by stopping bots from flooding the IRCTC servers with multiple simultaneous ticket requests, which slowed down the platform for real users.

Bots stopped from overloading bookings

IRCTC says that after this crackdown passengers now are experiencing a smoother and fairer booking experience, as the AI filters out the noise from bots and fake users.

Fairer booking experience for passengers