Beware of fake passport portals and websites! The Ministry of External Affairs on its website, http://www.passportindia.gov.in, has warned citizens to be wary of fraudulent websites and mobile applications for passport applications. The government is alerting people on the official Passport Seva portal regarding the frauds. A notification is displayed just a few seconds after you open the website to prevent you from logging into the fake portals. These applications and websites are taking information of those applying for passports, the Ministry of External Affairs has warned. Not only this, but additional hefty charges are also being levied by these fake websites upon filling the online application and scheduling appointments.
To this, the government has pointed out that some fraud websites have *.com, *.org* as their domain name. The ministry has also given the links of some websites that are fake for any passport related work. These are http://www.passport-seva.in, http://www.passportindiaportal.in, http://www.applypassport.org, http://www.online-passportindia.com, http://www.passport-india.in, and http://www.indiapassport.org, among other fraud websites.
It is also advised by the government that citizens who are applying for any passport related services should not visit these sites. Providing information or making related payments should also be avoided on the above-mentioned websites. The Ministry of External Affairs has only one website that caters to all queries and passport related work. The only website that is operated by the Indian government http://www.passportindia.gov.in. Similarly, the mobile application that is operated by the government is mPassport Seva. This application can easily be downloaded from iOS and Android stores.
Meanwhile, there have been online cases which made many people victim of frauds. However, the ministry does not have any specific number or applicant details who used fake websites for their passport application. Infact, the total amount of fraud cannot be quantified definitely, V Muraleedharan, State Minister for the Ministry of External Affairs had said last year in a written reply in Rajya Sabha.