A Google ad leads to a fake passport or visa website that takes your money and identity documents
Fake websites impersonating Australian passport renewal portals, visa services, and government agencies appear as sponsored search results. Victims pay inflated fees and submit identity documents to scammers instead of the real government portal. IDCARE reported a 76% surge in this fraud in 2026.
Also known as: fake passport renewal website Australia, fake visa application site, government service impersonation website, fake Australian passport portal, fake homeaffairs website Australia
Already happened to you? Do this in the next few minutes
- 1 Call your bank or card's fraud line right now. Use the number on the back of your card — not any number from the message or caller. Ask them to stop or reverse the payment and freeze the account.
- 2 If you paid by gift card, wire, or an app (Zelle, Venmo, Cash App): contact that company immediately and report it as fraud. Acting fast sometimes recovers the money.
- 3 Report to the FBI at ic3.gov and the FTC at reportfraud.ftc.gov. The sooner, the better.
What to do right now
- 1 Renew an Australian passport only at passports.gov.au or in person at Australia Post — type the URL directly, do not click sponsored search results
- 2 Apply for visas to visit Australia only through the official Home Affairs portal at homeaffairs.gov.au — never through a third-party intermediary site
- 3 Check the URL in your browser address bar before paying — real Australian government sites always end in .gov.au
- 4 If you have already paid and submitted documents, contact IDCARE (1800 595 160) for free identity fraud support, and report to ReportCyber
- 5 Notify your bank if you shared card details — request a chargeback if the fee was charged within the last 60–90 days
- 6 Report to Scamwatch at https://www.scamwatch.gov.au/report-a-scam or ReportCyber at https://www.cyber.gov.au/report.
Red flags
- ⚠ The site appeared at the top of a Google or Bing search as a 'Sponsored' result — real government portals don't usually advertise; check the URL is passports.gov.au or homeaffairs.gov.au
- ⚠ The site charges a 'service fee' or 'processing charge' on top of the usual government fee, or quotes a fee much higher than the real government website
- ⚠ The URL contains words like 'australia-passport', 'passport-services-au', 'au-visa-apply', or other unofficial-sounding domains — it is never a .gov.au address
- ⚠ After submitting your payment and documents you receive a generic 'processing' email with no official tracking number or reference you can verify on the real government site
- ⚠ You are asked to upload your passport photo, driver's licence, or birth certificate to a site whose address is not a recognised .gov.au domain