Fake government portal: spotting the sites that trap you

A message brings you good news: an overpayment to claim, a refund from a benefits agency, the tax office, or your health service. All you need to do is click and enter your details. The page that opens looks exactly like the official portal. That is precisely where the danger lies: it is a fake government portal, built to capture your login details and your bank information.

Why these fake sites are so convincing

Scammers faithfully reproduce the logo, the colours, and the layout of public services. A fake tax page, a fake benefits site, a fake health portal, a fake identity sign-in: visually, the copy is convincing. The one thing they cannot imitate perfectly is the site's address. That is what reveals the deception.

The other lever is the story. The fake refund creates a sense of windfall and lowers your guard. You are then asked for your card number or bank details on the pretext of crediting the money, even though no government body ever works this way.

Recognising a fake portal

Before entering any information, adopt these reflexes.

• Read the full address in the browser bar, not just the name shown in the message.
• Spot dubious extensions or look-alike names: variants, typos, extra words bolted around the official name.
• Be wary of a page that immediately demands bank details for a refund.
• Stay cautious in the face of any urgency or threat of losing an entitlement.

Official government services use recognised domains, often built around a country's official government suffix. An address that strays from that should stop you in your tracks.

The safe method

Never use a link you received to reach a government service. Open your browser yourself and type the official address directly, or use a bookmark you saved. If you are unsure about a link, paste it into our URL checker before clicking: it helps you flag a suspicious address.

This habit, reaching services only through official domains and checking the address, protects you from almost all of these traps.

If you entered your data

Change the relevant passwords immediately from a trusted device. If you shared banking information, contact your bank at once to block any payment and watch your accounts. Keep the message and the fake site's address for your report.

To place this fraud among the other schemes around benefits and public services, see the benefits fraud guide. You can report a scam attempt to a national fraud service such as Action Fraud, and always verify a service's official contact details through its genuine government website.