New Delhi Oct 8, (UNI) The Enforcement Directorate (ED) said today it has uncovered instances of con artists issuing fake summons to individuals in an attempt to extort money and derail investigations. The agency has vowed to take action against these fraudsters.
“In the course of investigations, the Directorate of Enforcement issues summons under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) and the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA),” the ED stated.
“However, we have noticed multiple instances where unscrupulous persons are sending fraudulent summons to individuals with the motive of cheating or extortion,” it said.
The ED further explained that these fake summons often closely resemble genuine ones, making it difficult for individuals to distinguish between them.
To help the public verify authenticity, the ED has implemented a new system for generating official summons. These system-generated summons will now feature a QR code and a unique passcode. ED officials have been instructed to issue summons only through this system, except in exceptional circumstances.
“Summons generated by the system will be duly signed and stamped by the issuing official and will also contain their official email ID and phone number for correspondence,” the ED clarified.
The agency outlined two procedures for verifying the authenticity of a summons: Verification by scanning the QR code and verification by entering summons details on the official ED website.
Verification can be done 24 hours after the summons’ issuing date (excluding public holidays, Saturdays, and Sundays).
For summons not generated through the system, authenticity can be verified by contacting a designated point of contact at Directorate of Enforcement, A-Block, Pravartan Bhawan, APJ Kalam Road, New Delhi – 110011 (email ID: adinv2-ed[at]gov.in and Phone No.: 011-23339172).
The ED also addressed a related scam, noting, “It has come to our notice that scammers are defrauding the public through so-called ‘Digital Arrests’ by displaying fake arrest orders from law enforcement agencies, including the ED, and impersonating our officers.”
The agency strongly reiterated that arrests made by the ED follow due procedure and are conducted physically. “There is no concept of a ‘Digital Arrest’ or ‘Online Arrest’ under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002,” the official said.
“ED reaffirms its commitment to dismantling these fraudulent practices and advises the public not to fall prey to fraudsters impersonating as Enforcement Directorate officers.”
