ED launches QR-coded summons to curb fake notices and extortion

In an endeavour to tackle the menace of fake agency summons being sent by certain unscrupulous individuals with the motive of extortion, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) has come up with a new mechanism of generating summons through a system which bears QR code and a unique passcode at the bottom of the summons.

In a press statement issued on Thursday, the agency said the new mechanism has been brought "in order to allow the individuals to verify the authenticity of the summons received by them."

It added that ED officials 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".


During any course of investigation, summons are issued by the agency under relevant provisions of Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) and Foreign Exchange Management Act (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," the agency said.

The receiver of the summons can verify the authenticity of the summons either by "verification of scanning of QR code" or verifying by "entering details of summons". The verification can be done after 24 hours of summons issuing date (excluding public holidays, Saturdays and Sundays).