Regional Passport Officer Issues a Warning Regarding Increasing Cybercrimes Aimed at Applicants

India has been seeing an increase in cybercrimes, with offenders increasingly going after gullible people seeking passports. Notable incidents of these kinds of crimes have been reported in Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh, which is why Regional Passport Officer Anuj Swarup has sent out a warning plea. Swarup emphasized that https://www.passportindia.gov.in is the only website that is authorized to be used for passport applications, and he strongly advised applicants to utilize this website alone. About 2200 applications are processed every day by the Ghaziabad Passport Seva Kendra, which handles passports from 14 districts in Western Uttar Pradesh.

A common tactic used by cybercriminals is to create fictitious domain names that closely mimic the genuine passport website. These false domain names contain versions like Apply Passport, Passport Seva, India Passport, Online Passport India, Passport India Portal, and Passport India, among others. These strategies prey on gullible candidates who do not know the difference between authentic and fake websites. Applying via deceptive portals gives scammers access to applicants’ personal information, which may result in serious financial theft.

Applicants need to be on the lookout for these fraudulent websites. Legitimate passport application websites offer a small price of Rs 1500, however fraudulent sites demand outrageous fees for the same service that range from Rs 4000 to Rs 5000. Furthermore, authentic websites provide applicants their login IDs and passwords, making it possible to reschedule appointments at no cost. Conversely, fraudulent websites charge extra for rescheduling, ranging from Rs 2000 to Rs 3000, which results in needless money loss and annoyance for applicants.

Education programs and awareness efforts are essential for enabling people to distinguish between legitimate and fraudulent websites. In order to get help with the intricacies of online passport applications, some people choose to go to cybercafes. But many people are still at risk because they don’t know how to tell the difference between phony and real websites, leaving them open to financial frauds.

Vigilance and knowledge are critical to preventing people from becoming victims of fraudulent operations since cybercrimes target a variety of industries and continue to change. The public has to be taught more about internet safety procedures and the need of confirming a website’s legitimacy before providing personal information, according to authorities.