When a Website Wears a Mask: A Student's Cautionary Tale of Cyber Impersonation (Part I)

Introduction

In the digital era, where government portals and educational institutions are shifting most of their services online, cybercriminals are also finding smarter ways to trick users. One such rising threat is website impersonation, where attackers build websites mimicking official institutions to collect personal data or deceive users. These scams often look convincing, using logos, branding, and even domain names that seem authentic at first glance.

A Realistic Scenario: Ravi's Story

Ravi, a final-year undergraduate student, was exploring certification courses to boost his employability. While searching for a reputed government educational institution's program, he landed on what looked like their official website. It had the institution's name in the URL, displayed its emblem proudly, and even had a course inquiry form.

Without suspecting any foul play, Ravi filled in his details—name, phone number, and email ID. However, in a matter of hours, he began receiving incessant promotional calls and emails from unknown educational service providers. Confused, Ravi double-checked the website and realized it had no privacy policy, no terms and conditions, and lacked HTTPS encryption.

Ravi had unknowingly become a victim of phishing and online impersonation, leading to data misuse.

Understanding the Threats Involved

This type of cyber scam falls under several cybersecurity threats:

• Phishing: Ravi was misled into believing the fake site was legitimate and willingly gave up personal information.

• Data Misuse: His data was shared or sold to marketing firms without his consent.

• Online Impersonation: The fake website used visual elements and domain tricks to impersonate an official government entity.

According to a CERT-IN advisory, threat actors increasingly create spoofed portals to collect sensitive information from unsuspecting users. Such impersonation tactics have been flagged multiple times across sectors, including education.

How to Spot a Fake Website

To avoid falling into similar traps, here are a few key checks:

1. Verify the Domain: Official Indian government domains usually end in .gov.in, .ac.in or are listed on government directories.

2. Check for HTTPS: A secure site should always have the padlock icon and HTTPS in its URL.

3. Inspect the Privacy Policy: Legitimate websites always include a privacy policy and terms of service.

4. Search Independently: Don’t trust promoted links. Search for the institution on Google and compare the URLs.

5. Use Domain Lookup Tools: Services like Whois can show the domain registration date and owner details.

Conclusion

Ravi’s story is a stark reminder that not every website wearing an official badge is genuine. As users, we must stay vigilant and learn to spot red flags in digital interactions. In our next blog post, we’ll discuss the legal implications of such impersonation and data misuse under the Indian law and how users like Ravi can seek redress.

Stay informed. Stay safe.