New York: A woman in the US narrowly avoided falling for a sophisticated impersonation scam after callers posing as Indian Consulate officials claimed that a police complaint had been filed against her in India.
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The callers appeared to have access to several of her personal details, including her address. They also used the names of people who actually worked at the Indian Consulate, making the call appear genuine and leaving the woman briefly wondering whether her identity had been misused in connection with a crime.
The callers told her that she could speak with authorities in India and provide information needed to resolve the alleged complaint. When she asked what documents were required, however, they continued trying to handle the matter over the phone rather than asking her to visit the consulate.
That raised suspicion. It was a Saturday, and she questioned why an alleged consular matter could not simply be dealt with by visiting the office during working hours.
While still on the call, she began independently checking the phone numbers, names and other details provided by the callers. Searches for similar incidents eventually revealed accounts of people receiving comparable calls.
She then realized the call was a scam and ended the conversation.
The incident highlights how impersonation scams are increasingly relying on genuine-looking personal information and details about real government officials to establish credibility, rather than immediately demanding money.
Sharing her experience on Instagram, Malika Kamboj said the call was convincing enough to make her briefly question whether there could actually be a police complaint against her. She urged Indians living abroad not to assume that a caller is genuine simply because the person knows their name, address or other personal information.
The warning comes amid official advisories about similar scams targeting Indians in the US.
The Consulate General of India in New York has warned that fraudsters have been spoofing its telephone lines and impersonating consular officials. In some cases, callers claim that complaints have been registered against victims with Indian police or Interpol and seek personal information or attempt to extort money. The Consulate has made clear that its officials do not make calls seeking personal information from individuals.
The FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) has also warned about scammers impersonating US and foreign law-enforcement or government officials. The agency said such criminals can spoof genuine phone numbers, employee names and official credentials, and may specifically target foreign nationals and ethnic communities by impersonating foreign diplomatic officials.
The FBI advises people not to use contact information supplied by a suspicious caller to verify their identity. Instead, they should end the call and independently obtain the agency’s official contact details.
Kamboj’s experience serves as a reminder that personal information in the hands of a scammer can make a fraudulent call sound remarkably authentic. Anyone receiving such a call should independently verify the claim before sharing documents, personal information or financial details.
Reader’s Note: If you receive an unsolicited call claiming to be from an Indian consulate, police department or another government authority, do not share personal, financial or identity information. Hang up and contact the organisation using contact details obtained independently from its official website. If you are in the US and encounter an impersonation scam, preserve the phone number, messages and other evidence and report it to the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3).
