Enforcement Directorate launches new mechanism to stop fake summons by cons, details here

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New Delhi: After instances of “unscrupulous” people issuing fake notices to extort money came to light, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) has decided to issue QR-coded and password-bearing summonses during money laundering and foreign exchange violation probes. 

The central agency said in order to allow the individuals to verify the authenticity of the summons received by them, a mechanism of generating notices through the system has been made operational. “Accordingly, officials of ED have been instructed to issue summons only through the system except in certain exceptional circumstances. It may also be noted that the summons generated from the system shall be duly signed and stamped by the official issuing the summons and shall also contain his/her official email id and the phone number for correspondence purpose,” the ED said in an official statement. 

“The system generated summons shall bear a QR code and a unique Passcode at the bottom of the summons. The receiver of the summons can verify the authenticity of the summons by scanning the QR code printed on the summons and entering the unique Passcode on the website page of ED (which will open after scanning the QR code) after 24 hours of receipt of the same (excluding public holidays, saturdays and sundays),” the agency added. 

The step comes in the wake of 'conmen' sending summons to individuals with the motive of cheating or extortion. A probe was conducted by ED in these cases. Recently, four people were arrested by Delhi Police, on the basis of a complaint filed by ED, who were involved in issuing fake notice for appearance, impersonating as ED officers, the statement said. 

The ED said that the summons which could not be generated through the system can be verified by contacting the designated point of contact over telephone or email.

"The detailed procedure required to be followed for verification of summons including the details of the designated points of contact are available on the official website of the ED," the agency said.