The Department for Registration of Persons has issued a public warning after it emerged that fraudsters are misusing the department’s hotline number and name to obtain personal information and commit financial fraud.
Calls are being placed using numbers similar to the official hotline — including +94115226126, +0115226126, as well as the mobile numbers 0771167739 and 0742756098 — to deceive citizens into handing over sensitive data.
The department said fraudsters have also created a mobile application that displays the state emblem and falsely claims to register users for a digital identity card or an e-National Identity Card. The department stressed that it does not carry out any such registrations.
A counterfeit website at drpgov-lk[.]com, designed to resemble the department’s official site, is also being circulated as part of the scheme.
Citizens have been urged to avoid providing personal information to suspicious callers, unofficial websites or unverified mobile applications. The department reiterated that any official correspondence or digital identity processes are handled only through its verified channels.
The alert follows a cluster of recent digital fraud warnings. Police this week warned the public about an APK banking trojan impersonating SriLankan Airlines, and the Criminal Investigation Department issued advisories on impersonation-based cyber scams. Together, the warnings signal a rising volume of attempts to exploit trusted government and corporate names for financial fraud.
