NEW YORK—If you are an Indian passport holder, beware of phone calls or emails from people pretending to be US Immigration or Police authorities requesting for details of your passports and travel documents, Indian Consul General in New York warned in a statement.
“These are hoax calls with the eventual aim of getting details of the applicant’s Passport number/date of issue etc. and could lead to Identity theft as well as other fraud,” the statement said. “Sometimes the fraudsters may mimic the telephone numbers of the Consulate or other authorities.”
The statement said that Indian Passport holders are requested to exercise extreme caution and not to give any information on telephone unless sought in written from an identifiable Authority.
“The details may only be shared by written communication and copy endorsed to the Consulate at cons.newyork@ema.gov.in. If such call has already been received and details have been shared, please report to the nearest Police Station and keep Consulate informed about the calls along with the Passport details shared with such callers.”
