 "Maharashtra seeks Centre's nod to link traffic fines with bank accounts")
Maharashtra has asked the central government to approve the state’s plan to link unpaid e-challans with the bank accounts of motorists, news organisations reported.
Maharashtra’s government targets a substantial Rs 2,429 crore in outstanding fines from 42.89 million traffic violators. Despite the implementation of e-challans in January 2019, only 35 per cent of the levied penalties have been recovered in five years.
After the introduction of e-challans, more than 7.53 million motorists have been fined in Maharashtra through electronic systems that utilise handheld devices and CCTV networks. These fines, totalling Rs 3,768 crore, have seen only Rs 1,339 crore collected, reflecting a 35 per cent recovery rate up to March 2024. E-challans are issued for violations such as speeding, cutting lanes and jumping traffic signals.
The state government's multiple efforts to recover the outstanding fines have proven insufficient, prompting the transport department to seek permission from the central government to link e-challans with motorists' bank accounts.
According to a transport department official, the initiative would link the bank accounts used for FASTag and motor insurance payments with the outstanding e-challans. This would facilitate automatic recovery of fines when motorists attempt to top-up their FASTag or pay for their vehicle insurance.
Odisha's links e-challans with bank accounts
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Maharashtra’s move is not new. In 2023, the Supreme Court Committee on Road Safety (SCCoRS) had proposed that the Odisha government consider collecting fines directly from the bank accounts of traffic violators who fail to pay within a specified timeframe, according to a Times of India report.
Sanjay Mital, the committee's secretary, advised the Odisha government and police to discuss the auto-debit system with stakeholders, including banks, to improve fine collection rates. This proposal emerged after observing that only 27 per cent of issued e-challans in Odisha result in paid fines, with the remaining cases often proceeding to court.
E-challan scams on the rise
An autorickshaw driver in Thane, Maharashtra, recently fell victim to a scam after receiving a text message alleging a traffic violation and instructing him to settle the fine via an app called "Vahan Parivahan." Upon installing the app, he began receiving numerous OTPs on his phone. Although he quickly deleted the app, unauthorised transactions amounting to Rs 50,000 had already been made from his account.
In Gujarat’s Ahmedabad, cybercriminals duped residents of substantial sums by sending fraudulent e-challan messages. These messages tricked recipients into clicking malicious links and disclosing their personal and financial information. The scammers managed to steal lakhs of rupees from victims' accounts before being apprehended by the police.
How do fake e-Challan scams operate?
Scammers send text messages or emails that mimic legitimate e-challan notifications from traffic police. These messages claim that the recipient has an unpaid traffic violation and include a link to view or pay the challan. The provided links direct victims to fake websites designed to steal personal information.
Fraudsters create payment links that closely resemble the official e-challan website. At a quick glance, the difference is easily missed, causing victims to pay the scammers instead of the traffic authorities.
In some instances, scammers persuade victims to download a mobile app purportedly for viewing or paying e-challans. These apps, however, are designed to steal data from the victim's device or infect it with malware.