Another day, another scam. This time, fraudsters are impersonating traffic police in Chennai, and one man just lost Rs 12,600 to their clever ploy. The victim, Senthil, a 28-year-old resident of Perumbakkam, fell prey to a fake SMS that looked legit at first glance.
The message claimed to be from the Traffic Police department and included his two-wheeler’s registration number, suggesting an unpaid fine. Since his wife and brother-in-law had used his bike recently, Senthil assumed it was a valid notice. Without a second thought, he clicked the link provided to check the penalty amount.
Big mistake.
His phone froze instantly. Moments later, he received an OTP, and before he could react, Rs 12,600 vanished from his bank account. Panicked, he reached out to the Cyber Crime helpline (1930) and filed a formal complaint at the Perumbakkam police station.
Here’s how the scam works: Criminals send out deceptive SMSes that look like official traffic police alerts. The messages mention unpaid e-challans and include malicious links. Clicking them either installs malware or leads to phishing websites designed to steal sensitive banking details.
What makes this fraud particularly alarming is how convincingly it mimics real traffic police communications. Vehicle owners, already wary of fines, are easy targets. The speed at which the money was siphoned off shows just how advanced these cybercriminals have become.
Local authorities, including the Cyber Crime branch, are now investigating. Meanwhile, this incident serves as yet another reminder to think twice before clicking on suspicious links, no matter how real they seem.
If you receive a traffic challan SMS, verify it through official channels first. Better safe than sorry.