'High alert': traveller warns how easily fake passport sites can trap you

Holidaymakers trying to get a straight answer from foreign passport offices are warning that a complete lack of customer support is leaving them open to devious online scammers.

While searching for the right page to renew a passport or apply for a visa, applicants wade through a sea of look-alike scam websites to find the official portal.

Canberra resident Charlotte* learnt this lesson the hard way when attempting to renew her British passport, only to find no human customer service on the UK Passport Office site.

"In a situation where you are already anxious about the procedure, a site offering a user-friendly interface is exactly what's going to catch people," she said.

Charlotte tried to call the phone number listed on the passport office website but the helplines either failed to connect or offered an automated response.

Anxious about the strict demands of the application process, Charlotte turned to Google search results and fell victim to a scam site that mimicked the official government platform.

The scam website had a helpful chatbot that was able to answer Charlotte's questions instantly, and she proceeded with her application, loading her sensitive documents to the portal.

"I did a Google search looking for contact numbers, information and help, and this site came up with a chat button prominently on the bottom of the screen," she said.

"They answered my question, were friendly, and the form came up looking exactly like the one on the official site."

After realising the website she was using was not legitimate, Charlotte has been in a state of "high-alert" and has decided not to proceed with the passport application.

She has become "seriously averse, almost phobic" to using the internet, and suspects a recent failed attempt to hack her myGov account may have been connected to the scammers.

"All the onus is on the citizen for self-defence against the scams, the police responded saying they were not following up the case," she said, after reporting the issue.

"I have spent hours changing passwords, checking sites and accounts of all kinds, nothing really gives genuine security."

Cyber Mate co-founder Greg Caleo said the official channels are inadvertently pushing travellers toward scammers through this absence of human contact.

"When someone is already unsure which site is legitimate, and they can't get a human to confirm it, they're left to make decisions under pressure," the cyber security company co-founder said.

"Scammers know this, so they build sites that look official, add a chatbot that sounds confident, and give people the sense that they're finally getting answers.