Fraudsters create fake links for vehicles registration plates; case filed

The Mumbai police have filed a case against unidentified cyber fraudsters for cheating vehicle owners by creating fake links for the registration of High Security Registration Plate (HSRP) for vehicles, officials said on Thursday.

The incident came to light after an Assistant Transport Commissioner-rank officer approached the South Region Cyber police station here on Wednesday with a complaint against unidentified cyber fraudsters, an official said. The Maharashtra transport department has earlier mandated the vehicles registered before April 2019 to install HSRPs by April 30 this year. As per the Supreme Court's orders, the HSRPs are mandatory to prevent vehicle-related crimes.

Accordingly, the work of replacing the number plates has been started in the state. The Regional Transport Office (RTO) has provided a link on the transport department website to facilitate vehicle owners to register themselves for the HSRPs, the official said.

"The RTO has selected three vendors - Rosmerta Safety System Limited, Real Mazon India Limited, and FTA HSRP Solutions Limited - for this task. Of them, Rosmerta and Real Mazon complained to the RTO that some cyber fraudsters had created fraudulent links for the HSRPs," he said. The fraudsters have created these links in order to dupe the vehicle owners by collecting money from them in the name of replacing HSRPs, he said. "Considering the seriousness of the complaint, the RTO officials approached the Mumbai police with a complaint, based on which a case of cheating under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and relevant sections of the Information Technology (IT) Act was registered against unidentified persons," he said, adding that a probe was underway, he said.