The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has cautioned citizens against fraudsters who are sending fake summons and posing as agency officers to cheat or extort money. The agency said several “unscrupulous” individuals have recently circulated forged summons that appear identical to genuine ones issued under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002, and the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA), 1999.

To tackle the menace, the ED has introduced a QR code-based verification system for all official summons. Each authentic summons will now bear a unique passcode and QR code at the bottom, along with the issuing officer’s signature, official stamp, email ID, and contact number, the agency said.