A viral video is going viral on the internet and sheds light on an alleged fastag scam, In the video, a boy is cleaning a car’s windshield and scanning in the process fastag with a clock. However, this is not possible and the video is fake.
Times of India-Gadgets Now spoke to ethical hacker Sunny Nehra who termed the video as fake. Nehra said that it is not that anyone can steal money from the FASTag account in this way. Nehra has also explained the same on his Twitter account. He explained the working of FASTag and their underlying security mechanism:
* Unique code is allotted for each toll plaza.
*Similarly, all toll plazas have a napper acquirer bank.
* Both the combinations are mapped on NETC system. The National Electronic Toll Collection (NETC) system enables the customer to make electronic payment at any NETC-enabled toll plaza on the highway without stopping at toll using RFID technology.
* Geo codes are mapped for each toll plaza.
* IP has been whitelisted by banks as well as SI and NPCI. This means that only approved merchants (licensed toll and parking plazas) can initiate transactions, that too at the respective geo-locations (and nowhere else). Also, to process any transaction, Toll Plaza ID (Generated & SI, known to the acquiring bank and NPCI) is required. “NPCI is connected to the member banks through its network and there is no way these transactions can be leaked,” says Nehra.
Another built-in security mechanism is notification alerts. Once the customer makes the payment through FASTag, he will receive an SMS mentioning the toll name, transaction date, transaction amount and available balance in his FASTag account. Vehicle owners can also check the toll fare for your respective toll plaza on the NHAI website.
Paytm calls the video fake
Paytm said, “A video is spreading misinformation about Paytm FASTag which incorrectly shows smartwatch scanning FASTag. As per NETC guidelines, FASTag payments can be initiated only by authorized merchants, after multiple rounds of testing. Paytm FASTag is completely safe and secure.” in a statement.
Times of India-Gadgets Now spoke to ethical hacker Sunny Nehra who termed the video as fake. Nehra said that it is not that anyone can steal money from the FASTag account in this way. Nehra has also explained the same on his Twitter account. He explained the working of FASTag and their underlying security mechanism:
* Unique code is allotted for each toll plaza.
*Similarly, all toll plazas have a napper acquirer bank.
* Both the combinations are mapped on NETC system. The National Electronic Toll Collection (NETC) system enables the customer to make electronic payment at any NETC-enabled toll plaza on the highway without stopping at toll using RFID technology.
* Geo codes are mapped for each toll plaza.
* IP has been whitelisted by banks as well as SI and NPCI. This means that only approved merchants (licensed toll and parking plazas) can initiate transactions, that too at the respective geo-locations (and nowhere else). Also, to process any transaction, Toll Plaza ID (Generated & SI, known to the acquiring bank and NPCI) is required. “NPCI is connected to the member banks through its network and there is no way these transactions can be leaked,” says Nehra.
Another built-in security mechanism is notification alerts. Once the customer makes the payment through FASTag, he will receive an SMS mentioning the toll name, transaction date, transaction amount and available balance in his FASTag account. Vehicle owners can also check the toll fare for your respective toll plaza on the NHAI website.
Paytm calls the video fake
Paytm said, “A video is spreading misinformation about Paytm FASTag which incorrectly shows smartwatch scanning FASTag. As per NETC guidelines, FASTag payments can be initiated only by authorized merchants, after multiple rounds of testing. Paytm FASTag is completely safe and secure.” in a statement.
A video is spreading misinformation about Paytm FASTag which incorrectly shows smartwatch scanning FASTag. According to… https://t.co/p0diAmg9aR
— paytm (@paytm) 1656135835000