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How to Spot a Fake Government Website

Government services are among the most imitated things on the Indian internet. Four checks eliminate almost all of the risk.

Last updated

3 min read

The short version

  • Genuine central and state portals end in gov.in or nic.in.
  • No government office will ever ask you to read out an Aadhaar OTP.
  • Government services are free or cost a small notified fee.
  • Navigate from an official directory, not from a search result or a forwarded link.

The four checks

  1. Read the full address in the address bar. Genuine Indian government portals end in gov.in or nic.in. Look at the part immediately before the first single slash — imitations often place the real name earlier in a long address to make it look right.
  2. Check the fee. Most government services are free or cost a small notified fee. A large charge to "process", "fast-track" or "guarantee" anything is not how these services work.
  3. Check what it is asking for. No legitimate portal or official will ask you to share an Aadhaar OTP with a person, or to send documents over a messaging app.
  4. Navigate rather than search. Start from india.gov.in or services.india.gov.in and follow the links to the department. This alone defeats almost every imitation, because they depend on being found through search results and forwarded links.

Warning signs that appear on almost every fake

  • A domain that is close but not right — extra words, a hyphen, or an ending like .org, .in or .com where the genuine one is gov.in.
  • Urgency: a deadline in hours, or a warning that your Aadhaar, PAN or account will be deactivated.
  • A payment demanded before an application is even submitted.
  • A guarantee of approval, selection or a benefit.
  • Contact details that are only a mobile number or a messaging app, with no office address.
  • Requests for an OTP, a password, or full card details.
  • Copy that reads oddly — mismatched fonts, spelling errors, or a page that has clearly been assembled from screenshots.

Where the genuine sources are

Where the genuine sources are
You wantGo to
Any government schememyscheme.gov.in or the ministry’s own site
A department or state governmentindia.gov.in
Aadhaar servicesuidai.gov.in
PAN and income taxincometax.gov.in
Provident fundepfindia.gov.in
Passportpassportindia.gov.in
Driving licence and vehiclesparivahan.gov.in
Voter servicesvoters.eci.gov.in
RecruitmentThe commission’s own site — ssc.gov.in, upsc.gov.in and so on

If you have already entered something

  1. If you shared an Aadhaar OTP, lock your Aadhaar biometrics on myaadhaar.uidai.gov.in and check the authentication history for anything you do not recognise.
  2. If you shared bank or card details, contact your bank immediately and block the card or account.
  3. If you made a payment, report it to your bank and file a complaint on the national cybercrime reporting portal at cybercrime.gov.in, or call the cyber helpline. Reporting quickly matters — some transactions can be stopped.
  4. Change any password you reused elsewhere.
  5. Keep screenshots of the site and any messages. They help the complaint.

Frequently asked questions

Do all genuine government websites end in gov.in?
Central and state government portals end in gov.in or nic.in. Some statutory bodies and public sector undertakings use other endings, which is why the second check matters: confirm the site is linked from an official directory such as india.gov.in rather than judging by the address alone.
Will a government office ever ask for my Aadhaar OTP?
No. Every legitimate use of an Aadhaar OTP is entered by you, on a portal you opened yourself. Anyone asking you to read one out over the phone is committing fraud, regardless of who they claim to be.
Are Common Service Centres genuine?
Authorised Common Service Centres are, and they can legitimately charge a small government-notified service fee for assistance. What is not legitimate is a large fee, a guarantee of approval, or a demand for your OTP. You can verify a centre on csc.gov.in.

Sources

Every figure on this page is traceable to the official source below. If a source has changed since the date shown, please tell us and we will correct it.