DUBAI: The Indian Embassy in the UAE has unearthed an apparent online visa scam and has warned foreigners against falling victim to fraudsters operating a fake website claiming to facilitate Indian visas for them.
In a statement, the mission said “some unscrupulous elements had created a website similar to the Online Visa Application website of the Government of India and are deceiving people to pay service fee”.
The scam has come to light close on the heels of news that the Indian government has decided to extend visa-on-arrival and electronic travel authorization to citizens of 180 countries, including the UAE – a move that is expected to significantly increase the number of tourists and other travelers to India.
While the official, authentic website for online visa application has URL address www.indianvisaonline.gov.in, the mission said, “Another website with the heading of Online Indian Visa Application Form and with the URL india-visa.co/index.php is available on the Internet”.
“This website claims to have expertise in Indian tourist, business and long term entry visa. The website instructions ask users to pay service fee of 55 pounds or USD 90 or in equivalent Euros/Rupees. This website is only charging service fees and is asking applicants to pay visa fee later when applying at the visa centre,” the embassy said.-PTI
