August 30th 2023.
Mumbai authorities have issued a stern warning to citizens concerning a new and alarming threat – the fake e-challan scam. Cybercriminals are sending text messages impersonating traffic police, informing recipients of a supposed traffic violation with a link attached that leads to fake websites designed to steal personal and financial information.
These fake websites mimic official government platforms, prompting victims to enter personal and financial information to pay the alleged fine. In some instances, clicking on the malicious links grants hackers access to victims' mobile devices, enabling them to swiftly siphon funds from their accounts.
To protect against falling victim to this scam, it is important to distinguish between genuine and fake e-challan messages. Genuine e-challan messages include specific vehicle details and direct users to the official government site - https://echallan.parivahan.gov.in/. Cybercriminals create deceptive links that appear to be the official website but end with ".in" instead of ".gov.in". To ensure the authenticity of messages, always ensure the payment link concludes with “.gov.in”.
Authorities urge citizens to exercise utmost caution when dealing with e-challan notifications. To stay safe from the e-challan scam, don't click on any links in text messages that you're not expecting, contact the traffic police department directly if you think you have received a genuine traffic violation notice, be suspicious of any message that asks for personal or financial information, and only pay e-challans through the official website of the traffic police department.
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