A Chandigarh resident lost ₹2.86 lakh after opening a WhatsApp file labelled “RTO TRAFFIC CHALLAN”, triggering an OTP and a series of unauthorised transactions on his bank cards, according to a complaint filed with the cybercrime police. The police have registered a case against unidentified suspects and are investigating the fraud.
The complainant, identified as Ambrish Kumar of Industrial Area Phase 1, told authorities that he received the message from an unknown sender at around noon on August 6, 2026. The file was presented as a traffic challan-related document. About an hour later, he received an unsolicited SMS containing a one-time password linked to identity authentication, followed by multiple transaction alerts.
According to the complaint, four unauthorised transactions totalling ₹2.5 lakh were carried out on Kumar’s IndusInd Bank credit card. A further ₹34,000 was allegedly withdrawn from his debit card through a point-of-sale transaction recorded at Muthoot Finance in Mumbai. Together, the transactions amounted to approximately ₹2.86 lakh.
Kumar said he first attempted to contact the bank’s customer service department. After being placed on hold, he went to the IndusInd Bank branch in Sector 8, Chandigarh, to report the suspected fraud, request that his cards be blocked and seek reversal of the transactions.
The complaint states that the debit card transaction of slightly more than ₹34,000 was recorded at 2.10pm, while Kumar was inside the branch submitting his report. The timing was included in his request to authorities for a detailed examination of the transaction trail and the circumstances in which the payment was processed.
Kumar subsequently contacted the national cybercrime helpline 1930 and filed a complaint at the Sector 17 cybercrime police station. He also emailed the bank’s customer service department to formally document the incident and the disputed transactions.
In his complaint, Kumar asked the authorities to trace and freeze the funds. He also requested the preservation of branch CCTV footage, system logs, employee audit trails and precise transaction timestamps. These records could assist investigators in establishing the sequence of events and tracing the movement of the money.
Chandigarh cybercrime police confirmed that an investigation was under way to identify and trace the people involved. The case remains against unidentified suspects, and the report does not state whether the disputed amount has been recovered or whether the bank has reversed any of the transactions. The police investigation and requests for transaction and branch records are the next stated steps in the case.
