The Government of India's Press Information Bureau has a fact-checking team that works towards curbing fake news related to the Government of India. To keep internet users safe, the PIB website shares a list of fraudulent websites from time to time. The current list has nine websites the names of which read genuine but the links lead to fraudulent sites, according to the PIB Fact-Check department, which advises people to stay away from these websites.


People are also advised to alert the agency if they receive pictures, videos, or messages that look suspicious.


Here is the full list of fraudulent websites named by PIB:


1) http://centralexcisegov.in/aboutus.php


2) https://register-for-your-free-scholarship.blogspot.com/


3) https://kusmyojna.in/landing/


4) https://www.kvms.org.in/


5) https://www.sajks.com/about-us.php


6) https://register-form-free-tablet.blogspot.com


7) https://nragov.online/


8) http://betibachaobetipadhao.in/


9) http://www.pibfactcheck.in/


It may be noted that the names of these fraudulent websites, as listed by the PIB fact check wing, seem to be genuine. But they are actually not. The eighth one on the list, for example, is http://betibachaobetipadhao.in/ which lacks "s" in the "http", which stands for 'secure'. It should also be noted that without https, any data passed is insecure. This is important for websites where data exchange is sensitive and passed across the connection, such as e-commerce and payment sites or the ones that accept online card payments, or login areas that require users to enter their credentials.


Apart from the PIB fact-check wing, major telecom companies, government institutions such as Employees Provident Fund and the Income Tax Department, and major banks regularly ask people to not share confidential information such as debit or credit card numbers, PINs or OTP details, and not receive calls asking for the same.


Internet users are advised to follow some precautions while visiting websites and browsing the net:



  • Users are advised to use a secure internet connection such as https://

  • Be careful of clicking on suspicious or unknown links

  • Avoid downloading questionable files

  • Visit and browse only official websites

  • Users are advised to keep their antivirus softwares and firewalls updated