DCP receives fake traffic challan messages, police issues advisory
Khairatabad Zone DCP K Shilpavalli has revealed that she had received fake traffic challan messages on her mobile phone. The Hyderabad city police issued fresh advisory to the citizens about a sharp increase in fake traffic challan scams, despite repeated public alerts.
Hyderabad City Police Commissioner VC Sajjanar on Tuesday said fraudsters were targeting motorists by sending phishing links through SMS, claiming pending traffic violations.
Sajjanar posted, “Fraudsters are sending phishing links via SMS. Once clicked, these redirect to fake websites that look identical to the official government portal. Believing them to be genuine, citizens are entering their details and getting their bank accounts emptied instantly.”
The Commissioner urged the public to remain vigilant and follow basic precautions. “Government websites always end with ‘.gov.in’ or ‘.org’. Citizens should never make payments through links received via SMS and must verify challans only on the official e-Challan website,” he said.
Meanwhile, DCP Shilpavalli had received fake traffic challan messages on her mobile phone recently.
The fraudulent SMS messages, received within a span of three days, claimed that a traffic challan had been issued and contained suspicious links posing as official portals.
The DCP posted on X, “Received 2 SMS within 3 days. Both start with 96782 & claim I got some traffic challan. 2 different https, apparently secure URLs. I didn’t jump to open the link. Instead reported on sancharsaathi.gov.in.”
Police advised the citizens to verify challan details only on the official e-Challan website and to report suspicious messages to cybercrime authorities immediately.
