The Indian Embassy in the United States has said that some fraudsters were trying to cheat Indians in the country by spoofing the phone lines of the embassy and asking for sensitive information. In an advisory issued on Monday, the embassy warned people from entertaining such suspicious calls.
The fraudsters seek information such as credit card details after telling people that their passports, visa forms, or other documents have errors that can be corrected for a fee, the embassy said. They also claim that if the errors are not corrected, one could be deported to India or sent to jail in the US.
“In some cases, these fraudsters have also falsely claimed that they received such privileged information from the embassy or other authorities in India,” the advisory said. “Visa applicants have also received such calls purporting to be from the embassy.”
The embassy clarified that it uses only government email communication to seek details about any documents.
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