News and Events What's New

Advisory on Scam Telephone Calls

High Commission of India

Ottawa

***

Advisory on Fraud / Scam Calls

It has been brought to the notice of the High Commission that some fraudsters are spoofing High Commission of India telephone lines to make calls aimed at cheating people. Some of these calls are shown as emanating from High Commission telephone numbers (613-744-3753) impersonating officials of the High Commission of India.

These fraudsters either seek personal information like Passport No., Date of Birth, date of obtaining Canadian PR, date of entry into Canada, 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 Canada.

In some cases, these fraudsters have also falsely claimed that they have such privileged information from the High Commission or other authorities in India.

This is to confirm that no officials from the High Commission make any telephone calls seeking personal information from any Indian or foreign nationals. In case any additional documentation is required from an existing applicant, it is sought only through email(s) originating from the email domain (at)mea.gov.in.

The High Commission of India hereby advises members of the public not to entertain such suspicious telephone calls made in the name of High Commission of India. They are also advised not to reveal any personal information or transfer any money in response to such calls. In case anyone has already fallen prey to such scams, the matter should immediately be reported to the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre (1-888-495-8501) and the nearest police station with all details. 

The information shared by Government of Canada with regard to Caller ID Spoofing is also helpful. It can be seen at the link below :

https://crtc.gc.ca/eng/phone/telemarketing/identit.htm

Ottawa

5th February, 2021

*****