I recently received an SMS saying I have a pending traffic challan. How can I tell if it is genuine or fake?

I recently got a message saying my car had an unpaid traffic challan and telling me to make an online payment. As fake challan messages can seem very realistic I would not click the link and pay online.

A better option would be to open the e-Challan/traffic police website and do a challan check on your car yourself. You can check the vehicle number, challan number, violation and amount before you payNever give OTPs, card details or UPI information through links sent in unexpected SMS or WhatsApp messages. If there isn't a correspondence between the message and official records it should be taken with a pinch of salt.

For regular challan checks an app like MyMotor can also make it easier to get vehicle and challan related information while important payment details should always be verified with the relevant authority.