Mumbai comedian nearly falls for E-Challan scam, flags fake website mimicking govt portal

A routine text message about a traffic violation nearly turned into a costly mistake for a Mumbai-based comedian — until a last-minute Google search exposed a convincing online scam.

Shridhar V, a stand-up comic from Mumbai, took to X to warn users about a fraudulent e-challan link that closely mimicked the official portal of the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways. In screenshots shared online, Shridhar showed how a message claiming he had a pending speeding challan led him to a website that looked strikingly legitimate.

According to Shridhar, the SMS arrived from a regular 10-digit mobile number and included a link directing him to what appeared to be the government’s Parivahan portal. However, a closer look revealed subtle red flags. The URL read “echallan.pasvahan.icu” instead of the authentic Parivahan domain, “echallan.parivahan.gov.in”. Even the spelling of “Parivahan” was altered — a small difference that could easily be missed by unsuspecting users.

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The fake site prompted him to enter personal and card details to clear the alleged challan. “I almost entered my card details before Googling the domain,” Shridhar wrote, calling the scam “shockingly sophisticated”. He added that the scale of such frauds is likely massive, given how realistic the portals appear and how late enforcement action often follows.

His post struck a chord online, with many users admitting they had received similar messages. Some shared stories of narrowly avoiding financial loss, while others pointed out that government agencies typically use official sender IDs rather than ordinary phone numbers. A few users acknowledged that while the scam may seem obvious in hindsight, the design is convincing enough to fool even cautious internet users.

A user wrote, “Indians are not innovators ,they are just good at fraud and scams.”

Another user wrote, “I get this every month, I simply write curse words and start a ddos on their api through claude.”

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

Cybercrime experts and authorities have repeatedly warned about a surge in e-challan-related scams across India. Fraudsters increasingly rely on cloned government websites and urgent-sounding messages to pressure recipients into making quick payments or sharing sensitive information.

Officials advise citizens to independently verify challan details only through official government portals ending in “.gov.in”, avoid clicking links from unsolicited messages, and never share banking or card details on unverified websites.

As Shridhar’s experience shows, even a moment’s inattention can be risky — and a quick domain check can make all the difference.