Shillong, Jan 12: East Khasi Hill Police alerted citizens about a growing cyber fraud involving fake e-Challan payment links being circulated through SMS, WhatsApp and email messages, claiming traffic violations and demanding immediate payment.
Superintendent of Police Vivek Syiem said the messages often contain suspicious links that can lead to financial loss, data theft, or malware installation. “Common tactics used by fraudsters claiming pending traffic challans with threats of license suspension, links resembling official websites (e.g., slight spelling changes), urgency such as “pay immediately to avoid penalty”, requests for OTP, bank details, or UPI payment through unknown links.
Police have advised citizens not to click on such links and to get challans verified only through official platforms such as that of the Ministry of Road Transport & Highways website.
Syiem said official challans are usually sent from verified government IDs, not personal numbers. He urged citizens not to share OTP, CVV, PIN, Aadhaar number, bank details, or other personal details and to avoid making payments through QR codes or any other unknown links/sources.
Citizens are also advised to install apps only from official app stores and to keep their phone updated with the latest security patches and antivirus software.
He said a receiver should ignore and delete such messages and report at the Cyber Crime Helpline No.: 1930 or ww.cybercrime.gov.in
“Verify it from the local traffic police, if necessary and if a receiver has already clicked or paid they can immediately block their bank account/card/UPI and contact bank customer care by filing a complaint with transaction details to enable freezing of account(s) or pay wallet,” the advisory said.
