Cyber Crime: Fake e-challan website being used to collect traffic fines

Goa police on Thursday issued a public advisory about a fake e-challan website — https://echallanparivahan.in — being operated to fraudulently collect online payment for traffic violations.

Superintendent of police (SP), crime branch, Pankaj Kumar Singh said that they received inputs regarding a fake website https://echallanparivahan.in being used to misguide citizens and fraudulently collect online payments for fake traffic violation cases.

Singh said that the fake site URL bears a strong similarity to the genuine e-challan site https://echallan.parivahan.gov.in.

“The genuine site, https://echallan.parivahan.gov.in, has been developed by the National Informatics Centre (NIC) e-Transport Project and facilitates online challan intimation and accepts e-payment on behalf of approximately 20 states,” Singh said.

In 2019, Goa police had booked 9,09,308 traffic violators, whereas, for the year up to May 31, a total of only 4,28,845 traffic violators were booked.

Goa has witnessed a 100% growth in vehicular population from 7,27,042 on March 31, 2010, to 13,99,848 on March 31, 2019. The average annual growth rate of vehicles in the state is around 7.5%, and is expected to grow. The ratio of traffic policemen to vehicles is 1:2,261 in Goa.

The e-challan system has an easy challan payment option, where violators use either cash or card to make payments, police said.

Source Link