Indian Consulate in Toronto warns nationals against phone scams by fraudsters impersonating officials

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Toronto : The Consulate General of India in Toronto has issued a fresh advisory. It cautions Indian nationals residing in Canada against fraudulent telephone calls from scammers masquerading as diplomatic officials.

According to the mission, continuous reports are being received regarding spoofed calls concerning Canadian visas, permanent residency (PR), immigration status, and job offers. In these cases, fraudsters falsely assert that they represent the Indian Consulate.

The diplomatic mission noted that certain callers have introduced themselves as officials of the Consulate General of India in Toronto. In doing so, they attempt to extract personal information or money from unsuspecting victims.

Clarifying its jurisdiction, the mission explicitly stated that it does not adjudicate matters connected to Canadian visas, PR applications, immigration status, or employment offers.

The Consulate has strongly urged Indian nationals to refrain from entertaining such communications. It also warns them against sharing sensitive personal details or transferring funds in response to telephonic demands.

For individuals who have already fallen victim to or received these scam calls, the advisory recommends reporting the matter immediately to the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre. Additionally, it asks victims to contact local police authorities.

The mission further explained that its operational mandate remains strictly limited to consular matters. It specified services such as passports, police clearance certificates, OCI cards, attestation services, and powers of attorney.

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It highlighted that official electronic communication from the mission is systematically dispatched through email addresses ending with “@mea.gov.in”.

Furthermore, in legitimate instances where a consular official does contact an applicant, the official’s name, specific department, and relevant application reference details are invariably disclosed to the applicant.

The Consulate re-emphasised that its administrative officials never demand payments over telephone calls.

The newly issued advisory also directed citizens to official Canadian resources. These deal with caller ID spoofing, fraud prevention, and cybercrime reporting.

This latest caution follows a pattern of similar advisories issued by Indian diplomatic missions across other nations globally. There has been a rise in reports of fraudsters impersonating consular staff to extort money or harvest sensitive personal information from Indian nationals abroad.

(ANI)

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