Fake Driving Licence and Passport Agent Scam over the phone

How it looks over the phone, the red flags and what to do.

On a call the pressure is live: no time to read, no time to check, and a rule that you must not tell anyone. Fake Driving Licence and Passport Agent Scam is one of the ways this shows up: Fake websites and agents promise a licence without a test or a quick passport appointment for a fee, then keep the money and your documents.

What fake driving licence and passport agent scam looks like over the phone

• Being told to stay on the line and not to tell your family.
• Instructions to install a screen-sharing app or to press keys on the phone.
• A second "senior officer" who takes over the call.

The scammer puts up a site with a name close to a real government service, or runs an ad promising faster results. A phone number or a chat button connects you to an agent. They explain a list of fees, sometimes broken into parts: form fee, appointment fee, verification fee. Each piece is small, so none feels alarming alone, and together the total is high.

Red flags to check on the phone call

• It promises a licence without taking the test.
• It offers a passport appointment slot for an extra fee.
• Fees are collected in parts through personal UPI.
• The website address is not the official one you typed.
• You are told to keep the call secret.
• The caller wants you to install an app to "fix" something.

What to do

1. Stop and do not pay any more.
2. Use only the official government portal by typing its address yourself.
3. Ask friends or family who recently applied how they did it.
4. Never share an OTP or PIN. No genuine staff member needs it.
5. If you already installed an app on the call, uninstall it and switch on airplane mode, then call your bank at once.
6. Tell a family member and report the number on the Sanchar Saathi portal (Chakshu facility).

Report the number on the Sanchar Saathi portal (Chakshu facility). If money moved, call 1930 immediately.

If money or a code is already gone

1. Call 1930 if you paid recently and give the account details.
2. Watch your credit report and SIM records for activity in your name.
3. File a complaint on cybercrime.gov.in with receipts and chats.
4. Tell your bank through the number on your card if you shared card details.

National Cyber Crime Helpline: 1930; report at cybercrime.gov.in.

Safeavio Sentinel's link check lets you paste a site address before you open it and flags lookalike domains and risky patterns. The scam check reads chat text you paste and notes an offer to skip the process, fees in parts and fake authority. It cannot confirm whether an agent is licensed or whether your application exists, so always use the official portal for your application.

Full guide: Fake Driving Licence and Passport Agent Scam: how it works, signs and what to do. Other channels: social media, fake app.

Questions