The Consulate-General of India in San Francisco issued an ‘Important Advisory’ on 18 July listing more than a dozen look-alike websites—such as “e-touristvisaindia.com” and “india-visa-gov.in”—that are harvesting applicant data and charging inflated fees for India’s e-Visa. The mission reiterated that the only legitimate portal is indianvisaonline.gov.in. Reports of phishing sites have tripled since May, according to the advisory, with fraudsters copying the government’s colour scheme and QR codes. Victims risk identity theft and, in some cases, arrival denial because the fake sites never transmit data to India’s Bureau of Immigration. Corporate travel teams should update intranet visa guides and instruct travellers to bookmark the official URL. Payment logs should be checked for unexplained e-Visa charges; refunds are rarely recoverable once money is routed through overseas processors. The advisory also clarifies that neither the Consulate nor VFS Global intermediary centres have any role in processing e-Visas—applications go directly to New Delhi—so travellers should not pay “processing agents” marketing themselves near Indian consulates.
