Visa Scams: How to Spot Fake Official Websites

The USD 50-100 Google Ad

Search for ESTA, Canada eTA, or UK ETA on Google, and the top results are often advertisements — not the actual government websites. These ads lead to third-party agencies that charge USD 50-100 for what costs USD 7-21 on the official portal. They submit the same form you could fill out yourself in 15 minutes. Some are outright fraudulent: they take your money and never submit anything, or they sell your passport and credit card details.

The Red Flags

• The URL does not end in .gov (or the country's equivalent: .gov.uk, .gob.mx, .go.kr, .go.jp, .gov.au). Official government websites use government domains.
• There is an urgency countdown. Real government sites do not show timers like 'Complete your application within 4 minutes 32 seconds!'
• They charge for something described as free. Thailand's TDAC, Singapore's SGAC, and Malaysia's MDAC are completely free.
• They offer 'guaranteed approval' or 'express processing.' No third party can guarantee government approval.
• Contact information is hidden or missing. Government websites display official contact details prominently.

How to Protect Yourself

Bookmark the official URLs for the countries you travel to most. Use wicwic.com as a starting point — every link on this site goes directly to the verified government portal. If you are on a page and unsure, open a new tab and navigate from a trusted source. Check the URL letter by letter — scammers register domains like g0v.uk or canada-eta-gov.org. If you have already paid a third-party site, contact your credit card company immediately.