Beware of fake E-challans: Verify yours today!

The Navi Mumbai Police in Maharashtra has been hosting live sessions on their official social media platforms and appealing to the common people to join the free sessions to timely identify a cyber fraud The Navi Mumbai Police has launched a cyber awareness campaign to educate people about changing trends of cyber frauds and one such awareness campaign is the traffic echallan fraudThrough their echallan awareness campaign the Navi Mumbai Police are warning residents about receiving fake traffic echallans an online ticket for traffic violations and putting in place a dedicated helpline number for Navi Mumbai residentsFraudsters are sending fake echallan messages to trick people into making payments For any assistance contact our helpline 8828112112 an awareness social media post readsTo help people verify the authenticity of these echallans the police launched an awareness campaign on how one can protect from falling victim to cyber fraudTo spread awareness the Navi Mumbai Police is regularly organising workshops on their social media platforms as they aim to educate people about the changing trends of cyber fraud and how to recognise fraudulent communications by cybercriminalsSome of these messages contain incorrect details or look unprofessional The police advise people to check the validity of any echallan before making payments to entertaining messages or calls for money collections against any traffic echallan an official saidCyber experts say that cyber fraudsters are quick to change patterns of scamming people online One such scam is the fake traffic echallan cyber fraud where a fraudster sends a message along with a link upon clicking on the link the page directs a person to a payment gateway which is a fake one and it leads to a person losing his money Similar frauds are done even through calls where the fraudsters trick a person into sharing an OTPRitesh Bhatia a leading Mumbaibased cyber expert told midday Fraudsters in such cases donrsquot hack into a personrsquos account Instead they manipulate the individual using various deceptive tactics Often they create a sense of urgency pressuring the person to share their OTP leading to an immediate transaction For example they may request a small payment but use the persons details to carry out a much larger transactionHe said to protect yourself from echallan fraud the best approach is to verify thoroughly You can always consult a traffic officer with a machine who can physically check and confirm the challan Most importantly donrsquot panic if you receive a message or call regarding an echallan Authorities provide ample time to settle the challan so therersquos no need to respond immediately to any call or message until yoursquove verified it through an official source such as the website or appBhatia added These messages often induce panic by claiming urgent traffic violations Donrsquot be misled by suspicious links or fake websites Always verify details through the official Parivahan website parivahangovin Pay attention to the domain ending in ldquogovinrdquo If in doubt reach out to local traffic authorities Donrsquot rush into making paymentsmdashverify with authorities before taking any actionThe Navi Mumbai Police through their awareness campaigns stress the importance of being vigilant and informedSome key points to understand how to verify an echallanOfficial Website Always check the official Navi Mumbai Traffic Police website or the Maharashtra Governments traffic portal Genuine echallans will be listed thereContact Police If you receive an echallan that looks suspicious call the helpline to confirm its authenticityCheck Details Look for the correct vehicle details and the violation description in the echallan If anything seems off it may be fakePayment Channels Only pay fines through official channels Avoid thirdparty websites or unknown links