Embassy appointment scams: avoiding fake visa booking sites

When appointments are hard to get, scammers sell the idea of a faster one. Fake booking sites charge a fee and give you a confirmation that means nothing, and "agents" claim to hold slots. A student visa appointment is booked through an official channel, and no one sells a visa.

How the scams look

• A copy of the booking site with a similar address, which takes your details and a "service fee".
• Slot sellers on Facebook or WhatsApp who say they can get an earlier date for extra money.
• Messages that look official, saying you must confirm or pay to keep your appointment.
• "Visa guaranteed" packages that include an appointment.

How to find the real page

1. Start from the embassy or high commission's own website. Find the visa section and follow the link to the booking system from there.
2. Compare the address of the booking page with the one on the embassy page. If they differ, stop.
3. Check whether the embassy uses a visa application centre (an outside company that handles appointments and documents). The embassy website says so and names it. Use only the centre that the embassy names.
4. Read the official fee list on the embassy or centre page, and compare it with what you are asked to pay. Fees are published and the same for everyone.

Red flags

• You are asked to pay for the appointment on a page you reached from a message.
• A person can "guarantee" a date or an approval.
• Payment is requested to a personal account or a mobile wallet, not through the official payment page.
• The site has spelling mistakes or a different domain from the one on the embassy page.
• The confirmation arrives from a free email address.

Before you pay

• Use only the official page and official payment method, and keep the receipt and the confirmation reference.
• Do not give your passport number or documents to someone who only promises an appointment.
• If you use an agent for paperwork, get a written agreement and check what they are allowed to do. The appointment is still booked in your own name, through the official site.

If you have paid on a fake site

• Contact your bank or wallet provider at once and ask about reversing or flagging the payment.
• Keep the page address, screenshots and receipts, and report the site to the police and to the embassy.
• Change any password you used on that site, and watch for your passport details being misused.

For the email side, how forged messages from embassies and universities are built and checked, see Embassy and university phishing emails.

Takeaway: reach the booking page from the embassy's own website, pay only through the official channel, and treat anyone who sells a slot or "guarantees" a visa as a scam.