What are the red flags of this scam?

The website is not canada.ca or a official subdomain — government services are only available at canada.ca • The site charges a 'processing,' 'expediting,' or 'facilitation' fee on top of the actual government fee — no such third-party fee exists for standard Canadian government services • The site appeared at the top of a search engine results page as a paid ad — fraudulent sites buy ads for government service keywords • The website design, colours, and logos resemble the Government of Canada but the domain is a .com, .net, or unfamiliar address • The site promises 'guaranteed' faster processing times — no private company can expedite Government of Canada passport or immigration applications

What should I do if this happened to me?

Go directly to canada.ca for all Government of Canada services — bookmark it and type it directly rather than clicking search ads • If you paid a third-party fee to a site you now suspect was fake, dispute the charge with your credit card immediately • Report deceptive websites to the Competition Bureau at https://www.canada.ca/en/competition-bureau.html • For immigration-related fraud, report to IRCC at https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/services/protect-fraud/report-fraud.html • Report to the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre at https://antifraudcentre-centreantifraude.ca or call 1-888-495-8501.

MEDIUM government impersonation Last reported: Oct 15, 2026 Share

A website mimics a Government of Canada portal and charges fees for free or official-fee services — passport, IRCC, CRA

Q: Is this a scam?

Yes. This is a documented scam pattern. Fake websites impersonate Government of Canada services — passport renewal, IRCC applications, CRA account setup, CBSA declarations — charging premium fees for services available free or at standard government rates at canada.ca. Two Ontario operators were charged in July 2026 for running Passport Online and Passport Express.

Fake websites impersonate Government of Canada services — passport renewal, IRCC applications, CRA account setup, CBSA declarations — charging premium fees for services available free or at standard government rates at canada.ca. Two Ontario operators were charged in July 2026 for running Passport Online and Passport Express.

Also known as: fake passport renewal website Canada, fake IRCC application portal Canada, fake government service fee Canada, third-party passport expediting service scam, fake CRA online service charge

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 Go directly to canada.ca for all Government of Canada services — bookmark it and type it directly rather than clicking search ads
2 If you paid a third-party fee to a site you now suspect was fake, dispute the charge with your credit card immediately
3 Report deceptive websites to the Competition Bureau at https://www.canada.ca/en/competition-bureau.html
4 For immigration-related fraud, report to IRCC at https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/services/protect-fraud/report-fraud.html
5 Report to the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre at https://antifraudcentre-centreantifraude.ca or call 1-888-495-8501.

Red flags

⚠ The website is not canada.ca or a official subdomain — government services are only available at canada.ca
⚠ The site charges a 'processing,' 'expediting,' or 'facilitation' fee on top of the actual government fee — no such third-party fee exists for standard Canadian government services
⚠ The site appeared at the top of a search engine results page as a paid ad — fraudulent sites buy ads for government service keywords
⚠ The website design, colours, and logos resemble the Government of Canada but the domain is a .com, .net, or unfamiliar address
⚠ The site promises 'guaranteed' faster processing times — no private company can expedite Government of Canada passport or immigration applications

Known variants

Fake IRCC portal: third-party website charges for downloading IRCC forms or submitting study/work permit applications that are free at ircc.canada.ca. Targets newcomers and visa applicants unfamiliar with official government portals.

Last seen: 9/12/2026

Already happened to you? Do this in the next few minutes

What to do right now

Red flags

Known variants

Sources