BHUBANESWAR: The State Transport Authority (STA) on Thursday lodged two complaints with the Cyber Crime Police Station in separate cases involving fake e-challan messages and suspected alteration of data on the Sarathi portal.
The complaints were lodged following the direction of Commerce and Transport minister Bibhuti Bhusan Jena to initiate strict legal action against frauds that put public interest at risk.
Recently, a vehicle owner fell prey to fraudsters after making a payment through a fake website. Following the incident, the STA lodged a complaint with the Cyber Crime Police Station.
Officials said fraudsters were targeting unsuspecting citizens by sending fake e-challan messages through WhatsApp and SMS, mentioning their vehicle numbers and other details. The scammers misuse the names of the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH), mParivahan and eChallan to dupe citizens into making payments by clicking on suspicious links, following which the money is fraudulently transferred.
The second complaint lodged by the STA relates to an applicant who successfully passed the online learner’s licence test after applying through Aadhaar e-KYC on the Sarathi portal. However, he later found that his name, father’s name and address in the verified electronic application had been altered. The changed details subsequently appeared on his learner’s licence as well.
Officials said a technical investigation was underway to ascertain how the data was modified.
The STA urged citizens to remain alert before clicking on any suspicious links. It advised them to avoid unknown links and verify or pay e-challans only through the official portal, echallan.parivahan.gov.in.Citizens have also been advised not to trust unverified messages or links related to transport services and to chck information exclusively on government portals, the STA said.
