Chandigarh's cyber crime police have arrested two youths from Uttar Pradesh in a fake traffic challan SMS fraud case. The accused were targeting city residents with messages containing malicious links. The complaint was lodged on January 13.
Chandigarh's cyber crime police have arrested Shalender Kumar (19), a resident of Rath district in Uttar Pradesh, and Mahender Singh (19) from Banda district. The duo was involved in sending fake traffic challan SMS messages to lure residents into clicking malicious links, claiming violations detected by camera surveillance and urging immediate payment via a web link.
The case began with a complaint from the Deputy Superintendent of Police, Traffic, UT Chandigarh, who received a suspicious SMS on January 13 at around 11:31 am. Verification by the Challaning Branch of Chandigarh Traffic Police confirmed the message was not from the official system, as the sender details and format did not match those used by the force. Several other residents soon reported similar fraudulent messages sent from multiple mobile numbers.
Inquiry revealed the messages originated from at least four different numbers, pointing to an organized scam. Technical analysis and KYC verification traced the numbers to Banda district in Uttar Pradesh. On January 26, a police team raided the area in coordination with local authorities and arrested the two accused.
Examination of the mobile phones seized from them uncovered fake challan messages sent to the complainant and other citizens, serving as key digital evidence. A special team was formed under the leadership of SP (Cyber Crime) Geetanjali Khandelwal, with guidance from DSP A Venkatesh and supervision by Inspector Eram Rizvi, SHO, Cyber Crime Police Station, Sector 17.
Police stated that the investigation continues to identify any other associates and determine the full extent of the fraud.