MILWAUKEE — What starts as a simple online search to renew a passport or apply for a visa is leading some travelers down a costly and frustrating path.
The Better Business Bureau is warning about a website called USPassportandVisa.org, which has been falsely posing as an official government resource. While the website includes a disclaimer that it is not affiliated with any federal agency, many users don’t notice and are left believing they’re on an official site.
Instead of receiving an actual passport or visa renewal, users report getting a basic PDF form, which is freely available on the U.S. State Department’s official website. More than 70 complaints have been filed nationwide through the BBB’s Scam Tracker since January.
Watch: Better Business Bureau warns of fake passport website that tricks travelers out of cash
Lisa Schiller, the senior director of investigations for the BBB of Wisconsin, said the scam can lead to more than just financial loss.
“A lot of personal information is involved in these types of schemes ... they ask for Social Security number, full name and address,” Schiller said. “Nobody knows where it’s going to end up, and it can lead to financial loss, identity theft or both.”
The Better Business Bureau recommends:
- Checking the URL. Government websites always end in .gov — not .com, .org or .net.
- Watching out for sponsored search ads. Scammers often pay to appear at the top of search results.
- Avoiding third-party websites for passport renewals or visa applications.
- Using trusted sources like travel.state.gov and the BBB Scam Tracker before submitting any sensitive information.
Schiller encourages anyone who believes they may have fallen victim to this type of scam to report it immediately to the BBB.
“You think that you’re clicking on the proper government website in order to obtain or renew a passport or visa, and you click on something and you end up on a third-party website, and you want to avoid this at all costs,” Schiller said.
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