Chief Whip Nurul Islam Moni on Thursday urged Members of Parliament (MPs) to remain alert against fraud involving the hacking of their mobile phones, voice cloning and forged signatures.

Speaking on a point of order in Parliament, he asked MPs to remain vigilant about such incidents and said the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) has started taking preventive measures to address the problems.

“There have been reports in newspapers about mobile phones. Yesterday, three MPs told me that messages were sent from their numbers asking for 50,000 taka urgently, another for 30,000 taka and another for 25,000 taka,” he said.

Moni said he tried to contact the MPs whose numbers were used to send the messages but they did not answer his calls.

“It means their mobile (numbers) have been hacked,” he said.

Drawing the attention of the MPs, the Chief Whip said it has become necessary for all lawmakers to remain sufficiently aware of the issue.

“I think if you (MPs) know about this matter, the whole country will know. Let the whole Bangladesh know through television,” he said.

He said fraudsters are also using voice cloning and forged documents to deceive people.

“Some people are forging signatures and producing documents. That has also become a problem,” he said, adding that MPs from both the opposition and the ruling party had fallen victim to such incidents.

He urged all members of Parliament to remain cautious about the matter.

At this point, Deputy Speaker Barrister Kayser Kamal asked the Chief Whip who should be responsible for taking preventive measures against such incidents.

“You have raised the issue. Who is responsible for taking preventive measures? The state,” he said.

He said MPs who fall victim to voice cloning or other forms of digital fraud should not be held responsible for the incidents.

“Preventive measures shall be taken by the relevant ministry, the executive branch or the state,” the Deputy Speaker said.

In response, Chief Whip Moni said the issue was discussed on Wednesday and that the BTRC has already started efforts to take preventive measures.

“The BTRC has started taking preventive measures so that we can resolve this problem,” he said.