FROM INDIA · CHAPTER 7
Scams to avoid,and help in an emergency.
Most students who are cheated lose money to someone in India before they leave: an agent selling a "guaranteed visa", a fake admission letter, an unrecognised college or an illegal forex platform. Check every institution yourself on the destination's official register, pay fees only to the university, and remit only through an authorised bank. Abroad, scam calls posing as immigration, tax or police officers are common; no government asks for gift cards or crypto. In a real emergency, use the local emergency number first, then the Indian embassy or consulate; families in India can ask for help through the MEA's MADAD portal.
Published by Althéa Consulting · Adviser: Harshita Kohli
Source review: · How to use our guides
- Cyber fraud in India
- 1930
- Or cybercrime.gov.in
- Consular help from India
- MADAD portal
- Ministry of External Affairs
- Fees
- Pay the university only
- Forex
- Authorised banks and dealers only
Check the institution yourself
| Destination | Official register to check |
|---|---|
| UK | Home Office register of student sponsors |
| USA | SEVP-certified school search (Study in the States) |
| Canada | IRCC list of designated learning institutions (DLI) |
| Australia | CRICOS register of institutions and courses |
| Germany | Hochschulkompass (state-recognised universities) |
| Ireland | Interim List of Eligible Programmes (ILEP) |
| France | Campus France catalogue and state-recognised diplomas (grade de master, visa or RNCP) |
Red flags before you leave
- "Guaranteed visa" or "100% visa success": no agent controls a visa decision.
- An offer letter that arrives without you applying on the university's portal, or fees to be paid into a personal or agent account.
- Pressure to submit fake bank statements, experience letters or marksheets. Misrepresentation can bring multi-year visa bans in the UK, USA, Canada and Australia.
- Scholarships that charge an application or "processing" fee.
- Forex or remittance offers outside banks and authorised dealers. The RBI publishes an Alert List of unauthorised forex platforms.
- Job offers abroad that require a payment, or recruiters not registered with the MEA (check eMigrate).
- "Digital arrest" calls from people posing as CBI, customs or police about a parcel or your passport. No Indian agency arrests anyone by video call; hang up and call 1930.
Scams after you arrive
- Calls or messages claiming your visa, permit or tax record has a problem and demanding payment by gift card, crypto or transfer.
- Rental deposits for places you have not viewed.
- Jobs that ask you to receive and forward money (money mule work is a crime and ends visas).
- Fake parcel, bank or health-insurance messages asking you to "confirm" card details.
- Each country chapter on safety lists where to report locally.
If something goes wrong abroad
- 01
Danger or injury
Call the local emergency number first (999/112 UK, 911 USA and Canada, 000 Australia, 112 France, Germany and Ireland). Then call your insurer to confirm cover.
- 02
Lost or stolen passport
Report it to the local police and keep the report. Apply to the Indian embassy or consulate for a new passport or an emergency certificate. Then tell your university and the immigration authority if your visa was in the passport.
- 03
Arrested or detained
Stay calm and ask for the Indian consulate to be told; consular notification is your right under international law. Ask for a lawyer before signing anything you do not understand.
- 04
Serious illness, accident or death
Your university's international office, your insurer and the Indian mission work together. Families in India can request help through MADAD. In proven need, the Indian Community Welfare Fund run by missions can support Indian nationals in distress.
IN DEPTH · TAP A TOPIC TO OPEN
Before you fly
- Save the Indian mission's website and emergency number in your phone.
- Share your address, university contact and insurance policy number with family.
- Keep scans of passport, visa and permits in secure cloud storage.
- Know your university's 24-hour security or emergency line.
QUICK ANSWERS
Your questions, answered.
Check the university lists the agent on its own website, ask for a written fee agreement, and never pay tuition or visa fees into an agent's account. Verify the institution on the destination's official register yourself.
The local emergency services first, then your university and insurer, and the Indian embassy or consulate for passports, arrests and serious emergencies. Families in India can raise a request on the MEA's MADAD portal.
Call 1930 or file a complaint at cybercrime.gov.in as soon as possible; quick reports improve the chance of freezing the money.
WHERE TO GO NEXT
Keep going: the pages that help next.
Each card says what you will find there. Looking for something else? See every page on the site.
FRANCE GUIDE
Safety, wellbeing & emergencies
15, 17, 18 and 112, the 3114 crisis line, free student counselling, the Embassy of India in Paris, housing scams and discrimination help in France.
UK GUIDE
Safety, wellbeing & emergencies
Emergency numbers, NHS 111, mental-health support, the High Commission of India, scams aimed at students and how to report hate crime in the UK.
FROM INDIA
A guide for parents
Study abroad answers for Indian parents: true costs, loans and co-applicants, sending money, safety, health, visiting your child and checking an agent.
FROM INDIA
Documents & attestation
Indian documents for study abroad: transcripts, degree certificates, MOI letters, gap explanations, MEA apostille, notarisation, WES/ECA and sworn translations.
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