The Maharashtra Transport Department on Tuesday issued a public advisory, warning to vehicle owners and drivers to stay alert against fake websites, suspicious mobile apps and fraudulent e-challan links, as cases of financial cyber fraud continue to rise in the state.
In its advisory, the transport department, stated that several citizens are being cheated through fake services claiming to offer driving licence, vehicle registration and e-challan facilities.
“Fraudsters are reportedly sending SMS or WhatsApp messages with threatening notes such as “pending challan” or “licence will be suspended”, along with unauthorised payment links to steal money,” it said.
Officials clarified that the RTO or the Transport Department never sends payment links through WhatsApp.
The Maharashtra Transport Department also cautioned that downloading unknown APK files such as “RTO Services.apk”, “mParivahan_Update.apk” or “eChallan Pay.apk” can lead to theft of sensitive information like OTPs and banking details.
Citizens have been urged to use only official government websites with the gov.in domain, including the following:
– VAHAN (vehicle registration) – vahan.parivahan.gov.in
– SARATHI (driving licence services) – sarathi.parivahan.gov.in
– Transport Services – parivahan.gov.in
– E-Challan Portal – echallan.parivahan.gov.in
The transport department advised the public not to enter their details on websites ending with .com, .online, .site, .in or any other non-official domain.
“For any suspicious messages or links, citizens should immediately report the matter to the National Cybercrime Portal (cybercrime.gov.in), call the Cyber Fraud Helpline 1930, or visit the nearest district cyber police station,” said an official.
