NEW DELHI: Pakistan seems to have stepped up its activities in India. According to reports by intelligence agencies, Pakistani operatives are making ‘spoofed calls’ to the offices of senior police, intelligence and Army officers besides bureaucrats under the assumed identities of mid-rung defence officers and are seeking information regarding government departments and officials. The alert was recently shared with police agencies.

To make sure that classified/secret information pertaining to government departments, intelligence agencies, police, defence and home ministry is not procured by Pakistani spies , office staff has been asked to be cautious while attending to calls where the caller identifies himself to be from the Army or an intelligence agency.

A “spoofed call” is where the origin of the call is masked and is shown as the place where the call is received. Usually, in cases of intelligence operatives seeking information from enemy countries, the calls are made from numbers located abroad.

Sources said the input was shared with Delhi Police which has asked its staff in all units to verify the identity of callers, purpose of call and in case of any suspicion; inquiries should be made in the office of which the caller claims to be a part of.

These callers, sources said, often identified themselves as Army, IB or RAW officers seeking information on a particular functionary, office or a plan. “The staff officers may get suspect the callers since they identify themselves as from the Army or a government organization. It is necessary that staff in all police stations, special units, anti-terror units, Army units, ministries and agencies like NIA, IB, NSG and MHA is briefed properly about such calls,” said an officer.

A note by Delhi Police special cell’s DCP Sanjeev Yadav to all units in the department said, “No classified information to be shared by operators at EPABX exchanges even if the caller has been identified. Persons in doubt about identify of the caller should request for caller number and call back for authentication of identity and call should be terminated in case of doubt.”

Sources said that other government agencies have also alerted their staff.