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Two from UP arrested in fake traffic challan SMS scam
The accused have been identified as Shalender Kumar (19), a resident of Rath district in Uttar Pradesh, and Mahender Singh (19) of Banda district.
Chandigarh Cyber Police arrested two youths from Uttar Pradesh for sending fake traffic challan SMSes with malicious links to cheat city residents. (file)
The Cyber Crime police of Chandigarh, has arrested two youths from Uttar Pradesh in connection with a fake traffic challan SMS fraud that targeted city residents by luring them into clicking malicious links.
The accused have been identified as Shalender Kumar (19), a resident of Rath district in Uttar Pradesh, and Mahender Singh (19) of Banda district.
According to police, a special team was constituted under the leadership of SP (Cyber Crime) Geetanjali Khandelwal, with guidance from DSP A Venkatesh, and under the supervision of Inspector Eram Rizvi, SHO, Cyber Crime Police Station, Sector 17.
The case was registered following a complaint by the Deputy Superintendent of Police, Traffic, UT Chandigarh, who received a suspicious SMS on January 13 at around 11.31 am. The message claimed that a traffic violation had been detected through camera surveillance and urged immediate payment via a web link.
On verification, the Challaning Branch of the Chandigarh Traffic Police confirmed that the message was not generated through the official traffic challan system. The sender details and format did not match those used by the Traffic Police. Similar fake SMS were subsequently reported by several residents, sent from multiple mobile numbers.
Further inquiry revealed that fraudulent messages were being circulated from at least four different mobile numbers, indicating an organised attempt to cheat the public.
During technical analysis and KYC verification, the suspected mobile numbers were traced to Banda district in Uttar Pradesh. A police team conducted a raid in coordination with local police and arrested the two accused on January 26.
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Police said that examination of the mobile phones recovered from the accused revealed fake challan messages sent to the complainant and other citizens, providing key digital evidence in the case.
Further investigation is underway to identify other possible associates and to ascertain the extent of the fraud, police added.
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