Fake FASTags being sold online: NHAI warns users

Cases of fraudsters creating fake FASTags, India’s electronic toll collection chip for national highways, which are identical to the real ones and hawking them online, have come to light. This has led the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) to issue a warning about these fake FASTags asking people to be extra cautious when buying them, said a Mint report.

According to the NHAI, some cases of fake FASTags similar to the official ones issued by NHAI’s subsidiary, Indian Highway Management Company Limited (IHMCL), (responsible for selling and operating FASTag) have come to their notice. Due to this situation, users have been asked to avoid such frauds and buy the original FASTags from their website, https://ihmcl.co.in/ or use the MyFastag App. Or, purchase them from the listed 23 banks and their authorised point of sale agents.

Also read: Mandating FASTags at toll plazas to help improve transportation efficiency: SIAM

All the information related to FASTags can also be sourced on the IHMCL website, NHAI has said. Users can also register a complaint about fake FASTags by calling the NHAI helpline number 1033.

The government, which has been pushing to migrate entirely to a cashless system at toll plazas, has made FASTags compulsory in vehicles across the country from February 15. According to media reports last month, nearly 80 per cent of the toll collected across national highways is through FASTag today, and toll collection is nearing the ₹100 crore per day mark.

Today, it is not just inconvenient if you don’t have a FASTag while driving on national highways across India, any vehicle not fitted with FASTag will have to pay twice the fee for the category of the vehicle as a fine. This is being done to facilitate fee payment through digital mode, which can result in a seamless flow of traffic at the toll plazas and reduce waiting time and fuel consumption. FASTags have been introduced to decongest traffic at highways and speed up transportation for trade purposes in the country.

Also read: Centre extends deadline for mandatory FASTags to December 15

FASTag, is a simple to use, reloadable tag, usually pasted on the windscreen of the car. The device uses Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technology to communicate with scanner installed at toll plazas. Once the car crosses the toll plaza the requisite toll amount is automatically deducted from a bank account or a prepaid walled linked to the FASTag. So, it lets you pass through without stopping for any cash transaction, has a one-time fee of ₹200, a Reissuance fee of ₹100, and a refundable security deposit of ₹200.