The Consulate-General of India in Edinburgh has issued an advisory after detecting a spike in fraudulent websites mimicking the Government’s e-Visa portal and charging unsuspecting travellers up to £120 in ‘service fees’. In a notice dated 14 September, the mission stressed that the only legitimate gateway for e-Tourist, e-Business and other short-stay visas is *indianvisaonline.gov.in*. The advisory follows similar alerts from missions in Chicago and Shanghai earlier this year. Cyber-security analysts say scammers typically buy sponsored ads that rank above the official site on UK search engines, then harvest passport scans and credit-card details. For corporates, compromised data can cascade into identity theft that affects employee background checks and future visa applications. Travel departments are advised to circulate the official link, whitelist it on corporate browsers and, where feasible, process e-Visas in-house rather than leaving assignees to apply unassisted.
