A Gujarat engineer lost Rs 1.48 lakh after clicking a fake traffic e-challan link that downloaded a malicious application on his mobile phone, according to a complaint registered at Kalol City police station. In a separate Ahmedabad case reported by the same source, a trader lost Rs 99,000 after a suspicious payment page opened while he was attempting to apply for an initial public offering.
The Kalol complainant, identified as Kuldeepsinh Mahendrasinh Rajput, received a WhatsApp message on October 25 stating that a Rs 1,000 traffic memo was pending against his vehicle. The message contained a link marked “GET PDF”. When he clicked it, an application named mParivahan was downloaded automatically on his phone.
The application then reportedly asked him to pay a minimum charge of Rs 1 to view the challan. Rajput entered his Google Pay password while attempting the transaction, but the password was shown as invalid. He subsequently checked the official RTO e-challan portal and found that no traffic memo had been issued against his vehicle. He uninstalled the downloaded application after suspecting fraud.
By that time, however, the complaint states that the fraudsters had obtained control of the device. A subsequent check showed that Rs 45,540 had been taken from an HDFC Bank RuPay credit card, Rs 99,000 from an Axis Bank credit card, Rs 3,958 from a Central Bank account and Re 1 from an Axis Bank account. The total loss was recorded as Rs 1,48,499, transferred through unidentified IDs.
The incident illustrates the risk created when digital traffic enforcement services are imitated through unofficial links. The message used the language of a routine vehicle penalty and directed the recipient to download an application before making a small payment. The official e-challan portal check performed by the complainant later showed that the alleged memo did not exist.
The source also reported a separate complaint filed at Maninagar police station by a 48-year-old clothing trader, Naresh Matalani. On August 11, 2026, Matalani was reportedly using Google Chrome on his mobile phone to log into his bank account while trying to submit an IPO application. A webpage identified as Fizpay.in opened automatically and displayed a payment request for Rs 99,000.
Before he could close the page, an OTP reportedly arrived on his phone and was entered automatically into the webpage. He then received a message stating that Rs 99,000 had been deducted from his bank credit card as a bill payment to a company. Matalani contacted the cybercrime helpline 1930 after noticing the transaction and later filed a complaint at Maninagar police station after the money was not placed on hold, according to the report.
The two complaints involve different methods but share a common feature: a digital process that appeared to be legitimate was used to trigger unauthorised financial transactions. The reported cases are now with the respective police stations for investigation. Citizens receiving e-challan messages should verify penalties directly through the official transport or RTO portal rather than opening links sent from unknown numbers.
