beware rogue ESTA sites! CORRECTED **

brightonman123

some places are charging for this, when the official one is free-
http://www.cbp.gov/xp/cgov/travel/id_visa/esta/


(edit- proper site now shown.. see hoew easy it is to get misled!)

I am surprised US Govt / google have allowed the rogues to even be listed..

there is a notice on govt site about the scammers..
http://www.cbp.gov/linkhandler/cgov/travel/id_visa/esta/esta_advisory.ctt/esta_advisory.pdf

dzug1

brightonman123 wrote: »

http://www.cbp.gov/linkhandler/cgov/travel/id_visa/esta/esta_advisory.ctt/esta_advisory.pdf

some places are charging for this, when the official one (see above) is FREE!

the offical (free!) ESTA site-
http://www.esta.us/

mmm the site you quote as the official free esta site is one of the private paying ones. It actually says:

Legal Disclaimer: ESTA.US is a private information website not affiliated with the United States Government

Incapuppy

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=846763

brightonman123

thanks, just realised the one i posted earlier was duff.

here is the proper one! http://www.cbp.gov/xp/cgov/travel/id_visa/esta/

techandy

... My parents were also scammed by this, by searching in google, the top three links are for scam websites, they ended up at this fairly realistic website (even spelling citizen in the american format) for a ESTA application

**SCAM WEBSITE** www .esta-online .co .uk **SCAM**

They aren't very computer literate and believed that it was genuine, charging them £20 each - I think there should be a MSE warning about these sites, I'm even more concerned if they store the credentials and breach data protection laws?

Andy

luci

It is not the first link in Google, it is the first SPONSORED link. I always ignore those no matter what I am looking for and go to the first unsponsored one.

M4RKM

luci... thank you for that.. I always say the same..

Here is an image for a search for ESTA. The official one actually has the word official in the description. None of the others use the word official, so really you'd think people would read, and have a look at that?!



Also, you'd think that is required by government would end in a .gov address, (all government sites do, in the uk, they can use gov.uk). Why would something that america want be on a UK domain anyway in the first place? (amazon.com / amazon.co.uk, american, british! etc etc)

It isn't a scam, it's an opportunity to make money of people who don't read, research, and assume that the first link they click is the correct one.

The only thing they do is apply for you, and you spend money. If you can't use the t'interweb and do things yourself, they do it for you. Simples!


M

balt

Similar problem with Australian Visa, it is A$20 for an ETA Visa but the new one is free and called Evisitors. I think this is for EU only but beware both are valid Visas so check first.

http://www.immi.gov.au/visitors/tourist/visa-options.htm

Edit: just noticed other thread http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=1902629
Sorry.

petemck

i agree that you have to be aware of the esta scams my son got caught by esta-online.co.uk/ and got charged £20 for the free service which took them all of half an hour. coincidentally my credit card has now been fraudulently used since this date. I wonder if they are connected ? it seems i am not alone as the us embassy website / american services/ p 519 shows... I note what markymoo says above and he is right that you should be aware of these sharks. unfortunately my son was given this link by his teacher !!

mazza1970

I am going to New Zealand on Tuesday and I booked my flights through Air New Zealand, once I had done that they sent me a link to do the esta free of charge as I am going via LA.

dwedmunds

I received the following by e-mail the other day. It looks genuine but I cannot find any 'US Consumer Protection Services' on the web or reference to the e-mails content on the official ESTA site. Anyone else had something similar?

Have you paid for ESTA? Learn how to get your money back!
Thursday, 22 October, 2009 1:38:38
From:
U.S. Consumer Protection Services
Add
To:


Dear
The Electronic System for Travel Authorization (ESTA) is a United States entry requirement for citizens of visa waiver countries. Unfortunately the ESTA program has been abused by websites which claim to be the official ESTA website. There is no charge to apply for ESTA. If you have paid to obtain your ESTA number, you are entitled to receive a full refund.
FOLLOW THESE STEPS TO RECEIVE YOUR MONEY BACK:
1. Contact your credit card company and dispute the transaction
2. Tell your credit card that you have not received any service and are a victim of fraud
3. Your credit card company will issue you a full refund within 2 days
Make sure you have a valid ESTA before you travel to the United State. Apply at the official U.S. government website:
Visit the ESTA help page for further information: