Google Search Trap? How Indians Are Losing Crores To Fake Websites
Featuring Ashwini Kumar, Founder of DiReFTY
NDTV's business desk examined how fake websites turn an ordinary search into a financial trap for Indian consumers. Scammers copy a genuine organisation's logo, colours, layout and customer-care pages, sometimes on a domain that differs from the real one by a single character. A consumer who clicks through is asked for an advance payment, or a fake support agent steps in to collect card details, OTPs or other sensitive information.
The report places the threat against India's wider cyber-fraud problem: around Rs 22,495 crore in reported losses and roughly 28.15 lakh complaints in 2025, according to figures NDTV cites from the Press Information Bureau. Those numbers cover cyber fraud broadly, not fake websites alone. NDTV also notes the Reserve Bank of India's warning that fraudsters manipulate search results to show fake customer-care numbers for banks and insurers.
DiReFTY founder Ashwini Kumar explained why the scam works: consumers have learned to treat a prominent search result as proof that a website is genuine. Kumar set out seven checks before paying - inspect the domain name, don't trust the first result blindly, reach the official website independently, pause on unexpected advance payments, never share OTPs or UPI PINs, don't call numbers found only in search, and preserve evidence if something goes wrong.
For businesses the damage runs in both directions. Every customer defrauded on a cloned site blames the brand whose name was used, and the loss of trust lands on the genuine business. That is why DiReFTY treats lookalike domains and fake customer-care pages as a reputation threat to monitor and remove, not only a consumer-safety issue. Victims should report financial fraud immediately on the 1930 helpline or the National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal.
“Fake websites work because they exploit one of the strongest forms of consumer trust today: the assumption that if something appears prominently in a Google search, it must be genuine.”
Frequently asked questions
How do fake websites trick people who search on Google?
Scammers build sites that copy a genuine organisation's logo, design and customer-care pages, often on a near-identical domain. A consumer who lands on one from a search result is asked for an advance payment, or a fake support agent collects card details, OTPs or other sensitive information.
How can I check whether a website is genuine before paying?
Check the domain name letter by letter, don't treat the first search result as proof, and reach the organisation through its known official website or verified social account. Be wary of unexpected advance payments, never share OTPs or UPI PINs, and don't call customer-care numbers found only in search results.
What should I do if I've already paid a fake website?
Act fast. Report financial cyber fraud immediately on the 1930 helpline or the National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal (cybercrime.gov.in), and keep the website URL, screenshots, payment confirmation, phone numbers and chats as evidence. The portal also accepts reports of suspicious URLs and numbers.
Why do fake websites matter to the brands being copied?
Customers defrauded on a cloned site associate the loss with the real brand, so trust and revenue suffer even though the business did nothing wrong. Monitoring for lookalike domains and fake customer-care pages lets a brand get them taken down before they reach its customers.
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