Bengaluru techie loses Rs 5 lakh after clicking on fake website to clear Rs 500 challan

Bengaluru: A software engineer from HBR Layout allegedly lost Rs 5 lakh after she entered her card details on an unsolicited website to clear a traffic challan of Rs 500.

The East Cybercrime Police on January 16 registered a case and launched a probe.

The 45-year-old victim told police that on January 16, around 9.30 am, she received a text message from an unknown number with a link — https://lihi.cc/LcbFG — to pay a pending traffic challan. 

She clicked the link and proceeded to pay Rs 500 as prompted by the website. After entering her credentials, Rs 5 lakh was deducted from her ICICI Bank credit card.

"It is suspected the unsolicited website had a backdoor, giving the perpetrators access to the credentials entered by the victim when she thought she was paying a pending fine.

"We want to reiterate that people should pay fines only through official modes and that the traffic police does not send such messages on WhatsApp, Telegram or any other messenger," a police investigator said.