- The Indian Embassy in Kuwait issued a public advisory warning citizens about a surge in fraudulent visa portals, emphasizing that www.indianvisaonline.gov.in is the only official e-visa application site.
- Indians are urged to avoid third-party websites such as indianimmigration.org, idiasevisa.org, evisaentry.com, india-immi.org, ivisa.com, and india-evisa.it.com, which are used to steal money and personal information.
- Authorities advised job seekers and visa applicants to exercise caution, avoid making advance payments through unverified platforms, and report suspicious websites or offers to cybercrime authorities immediately.
In a major crackdown on transnational cybercrime, India’s Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has dismantled a sophisticated fake e-visa and overseas job scam targeting Indian nationals.
The operation, conducted under the international initiative Operation CyStrike, led to raids at 35 locations across Delhi and nine other states, and the arrest of a key cyber fraud operative.
The action was carried out in coordination with law enforcement agencies from the United States, United Kingdom, Kuwait, Ireland, Singapore, and Interpol.
Investigators revealed that the accused were running fraudulent digital platforms posing as official Kuwaiti e-visa services and offering employment appointments in reputed Kuwaiti companies, extorting large sums from unsuspecting victims.
Raids on January 30 across Bihar, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Punjab, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Telangana, and West Bengal uncovered multiple cyber-enabled financial crime networks.
Laptops, mobile devices, computer hard drives, and forged documents including fake visas and employment letters were seized, along with a cash haul of Rs 60 lakh.
Officials highlighted that such scams are increasingly transnational, with fraudulent operations targeting victims in the US, UK, Ireland, and Singapore.
Many networks use mule bank accounts to funnel money internationally, complicating detection and enforcement. A notable fake website uncovered during the investigation — eservicemoi-kw.com — was found hosting bogus visa and job documents, according to Gulf News.
The Indian Embassy in Kuwait issued a public advisory warning citizens about a surge in fraudulent visa portals, emphasizing that www.indianvisaonline.gov.in is the only official e-visa application site.
Citizens were urged to avoid third-party websites such as indianimmigration.org, idiasevisa.org, evisaentry.com, india-immi.org, ivisa.com, and india-evisa.it.com, which are used to steal money and personal information.
Authorities advised job seekers and visa applicants to exercise caution, avoid making advance payments through unverified platforms, and report suspicious websites or offers to cybercrime authorities immediately.
Operation CyStrike is being hailed as a landmark global coordination effort to disrupt organized, technology-driven crime syndicates operating across borders.
