Wednesday, September 06, 2023
By Kamal Swami
Fake e-Challan: A New Scam By Cyber Predators
Undoubtedly digitalization has dynamically changed our lives but at the same time, it has put our safety at an edge of risk. After the increasing number of different types of cyber crimes, hackers have now adopted a new way of cheating people. According to recent reports, cybercriminals have started sending fake e-challans to citizens.
To combat this problem, law enforcement organizations have started making citizens aware of this and suggesting ways to protect themselves. Understanding the basic difference between a fake e-challan and the original is quite simple. A challan sent by government authorities contains information related to the owner of the vehicle, followed by the crime. On the other hand, a fake challan contains only a challan number followed by a payment link.
How To Deal With Fake e-Challan: If any person feels that he is the target of predators then he needs to adopt the following precautions:
- Visiting the Parivahan Website: As the first step, visit the official website of the Parivahan department https://echallan.parivahan.gov.in/ and download the challan. It is quite simple and easier to download the challan from the official website of the traffic department. If you don’t find any details mentioned in your challan on the website, then it is a fake challan.
- Check the Domain of the Link: Check the domain mentioned in the link of the fake e-challan. Remember government websites in India end with gov. in. If the link misses this domain name, it means you have received a fake challan. An original challan will have the complete information of the vehicle owner along with the photograph of the vehicle and the crime for which you have received the challan.
- Don’t Click on the Link: Never click on the link provided on the e-challan, as it may carry details related to your bank account and cards. A genuine challan doesn’t have any link for the payment.
Commenting on this, Surender Singh, DSP Traffic Police, Panchkula, said, "Avoid clicking on the link provided at the end of e-challan SMS. Call the police on the helpline to verify the challan. We do not share any links in messages”.
