British Prime Minister David Cameron got an unexpected call from someone claiming to be one of the country’s top spy chiefs.
It was one of two hoax calls reported Sunday.
“In the first instance, a call was made to GCHQ which resulted in the disclosure of a mobile phone number for the Director. The mobile number provided is never used for calls involving classified information,” a government spokeswoman said in a statement.
GCHQ is the acronym for the Government Communications Headquarters, a British intelligence agency.
“In the second instance, a hoax caller claiming to be the GCHQ director was connected to the Prime Minister. The Prime Minister ended the call when it became clear it was a hoax. In neither instance was sensitive information disclosed,” the spokeswoman said.
Following the two incidents, a notice went out to all departments to be on alert for the possibility of more fake calls.
Authorities are now reviewing procedures to help ensure that such calls are not patched through again, the spokeswoman said.