Fraudsters impersonating as Indian embassy officials had been demanding people to pay off for consular services, an advisory from the embassy in Washington said. It added that embassy officials would never contact applicants on phone for anything and asked the applicants to be alert. The embassy has reported the matter to American authorities and the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) headquarters in New Delhi.
The embassy got wind of the fraud as it received several phone calls from people who claimed they were called by officials, in recent weeks. What is more concerning is the possibility of a data breach, according to officials. These calls had gone to people who were seeking some consular service, pointing to the possibility that the fraudsters had access to that information.
“These fraudsters either seek personal information like credit card details etc. or try to extort money from Indian nationals by inter alia claiming that there are errors in their passports, visa forms, immigration forms etc. which could be rectified by paying money, and at the same time warning that the so called errors, if not rectified, could result in deportation of the individual to India or their imprisonment in USA,” the embassy said in its advisory.
Some of these calls showed up as being from the embassy telephone numbers while others simply used embassy identity. In some cases, the fraudsters also claimed that they received such information from the embassy or other authorities in India. The recipients were also threatened that if they don’t pay up in time, their passports or immigration status could be in jeopardy. The fraudsters have used bank accounts to receive the payments. While the embassy is only aware of cases of people who are otherwise applicants for a service, it is unclear whether the fraudsters also targeted others of Indian origin.
Officials said phone spoofing was a fairly easily accessible technology, that can be used from anywhere in the world. Indian missions in London and Frankfurt also issued similar advisories in the last two years.
