Public Advisory: Beware of Scams Involving Fake ED Summons and Digital Arrest

During the course of investigation, summons are issued by the Directorate of Enforcement (ED)
under the provisions of section 50(2) of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002
(PMLA) and section 37 of Foreign Exchange Management Act, 1999 (FEMA). However,
multiple instances have come to the notice of the Directorate of Enforcement wherein certain
“unscrupulous” persons (conman) have sent summons to individuals with the motive of
cheating or extortion. These fake summons are often similar to the genuine summons issued by
ED and hence, it is difficult for the individuals to distinguish between the fake and genuine
summons.

Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!

2. In order to allow the individuals to verify the authenticity of the summons received by
   them, the Directorate of Enforcement has implemented a mechanism of generating summons
   through the system which bears QR code and a unique Passcode at the bottom of the summons.
   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.
3. The receiver of the summons can verify the authenticity of the summons by following
   any of the two procedures mentioned below-
   (i) Verification by scanning QR code: The following steps are required to be followed
   for verification of the authenticity of the system generated summons by scanning
   the QR codeStep-1
   Scan the QR code printed on the summons which will
   redirect the user to the ED’s website page
   Step-2
   Enter the unique Passcode printed on the summons in
   the given field on the webpage opened after scanning
   the QR code
   Step-3
   If the details entered are correct, the contents of the
   summons (eg. Name of the party summoned, name
   and designation of the officer, date of summons) will
   be shown on the screen for verification of authenticity
   of the summons

(ii) Verification by entering details of summons: The following steps are required to be
followed for verification of the authenticity of the system generated summons by
entering the details of summons on the official website of ED

4. Verification of the authenticity of the system generated summons can be done after 24
   hours of summons issuing date (excluding public holidays, Saturdays and Sundays).
5. The summons which could not be generated through system can be verified by
   contacting the designated point of contact over telephone or email as per details given belowDescription Details
   Name of contact person Sh. Rahul Verma
   Designation Assistant Director
   Address Directorate of Enforcement (ED), A – Block, Pravartan
   Bhawan, APJ Kalam Road, New Delhi – 110011
   Email ID adinv2-ed[at]gov[dot]in
   Phone No. 011-23339172
6. Further, it is noticed that scammers are defrauding the common public in the name of
   Digital Arrest by showing fake arrest orders issued by Law Enforcement Agencies including
   ED and impersonating as ED officers. It is reiterated that arrests made by ED are done after
   following due procedure and are done physically in person. There is no concept of Digital
   Arrest or Online Arrest under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002.
7. ED reaffirms its commitment to dismantle fraudulent practices and advises the public
   not to fall prey to fraudsters impersonating Enforcement Directorate officers.