Fake summons menace: Now ED notice will come with QR, passcode

Hyderabad: Telangana BC welfare minister Gangula Kamalakar in August 2021 received Enforcement Directorate summons in connection with his mining companies in Karimnagar. The news led everyone into a tizzy as the summons stated arrest orders for Kamalakar's two brothers.

The news created a flutter since the orders came during the Huzurabad by-poll campaign. However, it turned out the order was fake and the ED filed a complaint with Hyderabad's cyber crime wing. The summons was suspected to be the handiwork of miscreants to extort money from the minister. The cyber crime unit filed a case under sections 468, 420 and 471 of the Indian Penal Code.

However, this isn't a standalone case. Three more incidents were reported in New Delhi. This has moved ED to upgrade the pattern and manner of the way summons are issued. "Multiple instances have come to the notice of ED where certain 'unscrupulous' persons (conman) have sent summons to individuals with the motive of extortion. Investigations were conducted by ED and recently four persons were arrested by the Delhi police (on the basis of complaint filed by ED) who were involved in issuing fake notices for appearance, impersonating ED officers," said an ED official.

The official further added, "These fake summons are often similar to the genuine summons issued by ED and hence it is difficult for individuals to distinguish between the fake and genuine summons. ED has now implemented a mechanism to generate summons. Now, the summons will 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."

What is a summons?

During the course of their investigation, ED sleuths issue summons under section 50(2) of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act 2002 (PMLA) and section 37 of the Foreign Exchange Management Act 1999 (FEMA).

How to verify a ED summon

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 its authenticity by scanning the QR code and entering the unique passcode on the ED website (which will open after scanning the QR code) after 24 hours of receiving the summons (excluding public holidays, Saturdays, and Sundays).

The system-generated summons can be verified by contacting the designated point of contact over telephone or email. The detailed procedure required to be followed for verification of the summons, including the details of the designated point of contact, is available on the official website of ED.