With the peak travel season upon us, tourists are looking to renew their passports or apply for a first-time passport.
Scammers are taking note of this increased travel period and Franklin County Recorder, Heather Bushbaum, tells RadioOnTheGo News scammers are targeting those applying for a passport through deceptive websites that promise quick passport processing while stealing personal information.
“We’ve had a few different people contact our office because they’ve applied online for a first time passport, paid fees, printed all the information out and heard nothing back. What it was they were actually paying for was the form they can get for free from travel.state.gov or from our office or many other passport agents. So it’s a scam in that it makes people believe if they don’t read the fine print that they are actually applying for their passport that way. You cannot apply for a first time passport online at all. And for a passport renewal, you can only apply either via the mail or through travel.state.gov. First time passport applications or renewals that do not meet certain qualifications do have to go through a passport acceptance agent, in person.”
Bushbaum says those that have fallen victim to this scam are not only losing an application fee, but are giving out personal information like their social security number and date of birth.
“So unless you are on travel.state.gov, don’t trust what you’re on. I mean, there’s plenty of, we’ve seen it before with birth certificates and other vital records. If you’re Googling, you know, ‘how do I get my vital record’ or ‘birth certificate’ or ‘how do I get my passport?’ You’re going to end up getting different things that are not actually to do with the state or county of your birth in the case of vital records or that aren’t true passport. The only way to do anything on a passport online is through travel.state.gov.”
Bushbaum says passport fees are paid to the U.S. Department of State. If you are planning to renew your passport or looking to apply for the first time online, the safest way to do so is through travel.state.gov.
