‘Nearly Entered Card Details’: Mumbai Comedian Warns Of Fraud E-Challan SMS That Seems Almost Real — How To Stay Alert

A Mumbai-based stand-up comedian recently issued a serious warning after narrowly escaping a new e-challan fraud that appears almost genuine. The scam is so convincingly designed that even vigilant users can be misled within seconds. Comedian Shridhar V shared his experience, revealing that he received an SMS claiming his vehicle had been caught speeding by a traffic camera.

The message seemed routine and raised no immediate red flags, as it came from a regular mobile number and included a short link prompting him to pay the fine.

The link opened a page that looked like an official traffic website. Shridhar admitted he almost entered his card information before deciding to check the website address, which saved him from losing money. The page did

not open the real echallan.parivahan.gov.in site. Instead, it took him to echallan.pasvahan.icu.

It showed a pending challan of Rs 500 along with a long reference number. There was also a warning that said failure to pay might lead to an “extra fine, licence suspension or court action.”

The SMS had also used a short link, which hid the actual link and made the trick harder to notice. In another post, Shridhar shared a detail that made the scam even more worrying. The fake website allowed people to type any vehicle number or driving licence number. No matter what was entered, the same details appeared on the next page. This made it look like the site was showing real government data.

Comedian Flags New E Challan Scam

Taking to X (Formerly Twitter), Shridhar wrote, “Who says Indians are not innovative? Look at the sophistication of this scam. I almost entered my card details before googling the domain. An insane amount of fraud must be happening with so many people. By the time the police start acting on it, they’d make millions. Terrible.”

Who says Indians are not innovative? Look at the sophistication of this scam

“Look at how cunning the design is. Whatever you input as the vehicle/DL number comes next to the challan number on the next page to make it even more believable,” he added.

Look at how cunning the design is! Whatever you input as the vehicle/DL number comes next to the challan number in the next page to make it even more believable. See this: pic.twitter.com/yUqmOBMvx6

— Shridhar V (@iimcomic) January 17, 2026

Reacting to the post, a user wrote, “I get this every month, I simply write curse words and start a DDoS on their api through Claude.”

Another shared, “Indians are not innovators, they are just good at fraud and scams.”

“The domain name to pay, i.e. cutt(dot)ly itself is suspicious,” a comment read.

An individual stated, “I almost did the same last week. Felt something amiss and tried verifying and realised that it’s a fake one. However got duped of Rs 999 with a fake HSRP number plate website.”

One more added, “Not sure why you would click that link, which obviously is explicit that it is a scam. I receive this regularly and I ignore it. But I understand how some people might fall prey. Good to put this out.”

Simple Steps to Stay Safe From Such Scams

To protect yourself from such scams, follow these simple but crucial steps: Always verify challan details on the official website — echallan.parivahan.gov.in.

Avoid clicking on suspicious links sent via SMS. Never enter your card or payment information unless you’re certain the source is authentic. Official government alerts typically come from designated sender IDs, not regular mobile numbers. For complete security, always check any challan directly through the Parivahan website or the official app.