*Advice updated – Now includes the mandatory $14 ESTA charge. But pay the US Government, not a 3rd party please?*
I’ve seen a bit of this since ESTA (Electronic System for Travel Authorisation) came online, but there has been a reminder from the SANS Institute (they do a lot of computer related security) about the fake sites on the rise.
For hells teeth sake the correct site for ESTA is https://esta.cbp.dhs.gov/esta/esta.html
I repeat in large letters:
At best you’re being conned out of something that is currently $14 to get from the US Government.
At worst, you are opening yourself to major identity fraud, and the risk of compromising your credit file AND your passport.
If you’ve done your ESTA on any other site bar the US Customs and Border Patrol ESTA Site, contact your Bank and Passport agency now, and report that your identity has been compromised.
Yes, you need to be careful. I've got scammed by http://www.estauk.com. I later found out that this site is run by Mountie Lee, some Korean scammer. He is the owner of paygate.net, a credit card processing company in Seoul. We should all report him to Visa and Mastercard! Hopefully he will lose his credit card processing business and end up in a Korean prison!There is more information about the various fraudulent ESTA websites at http://www.estascams.comMike Burns
Sorry… the links on my previous posting are not clickable. I hope it works now:OFFICIAL SITE:https://esta.cbp.dhs.gov/esta/esta.htmlSCAM WEBSITES:http://www.estauk.com and http://www.estaservice.org/WARNING ABOUT FAKE ESTA WEBSITES:http://www.estascams.com/mountie_lee.htmlBeware of scams!Mike
We feel sorry for your concerns about private ESTA websites, and we want to make it clear that Paygate is not associated with any of private ESTA websites.Also Dongsan Lee, aka Mountie Lee,and Soyoung Park are not running any of those websites, either.The reason estascams.com is accusing us of a defrauder is just because private ESTA websites used to use our online payment solution.This is a very irresponsible claim defaming Paygate, Mountie Lee, and Park, Soyoung.Paygate is an online payment gateway company providing merchants and their customers with safer, easier and faster way to pay online like Paypal.When a customer buy an item online, a buyer pays the price to the seller via an online payment solution. The money a buyer paid goes to the seller, not a payment gateway company.Since private ESTA websites have become an issue, we have stopped providing Paygate’s online payment solution to private ESTA websites.Estascams.com is spreading false claim with malice.An administrator of estascams.com has been stalking and blackmailing Mountie Lee and his family.This stalker has been sending emails and mails to friends of Mountie Lee found on Lee’s private SNS.This is a certainly unforgivable crime causing serious damages.We are currently proceeding lawsuit against an administrator of estascams.com for false accusation, libel, and stalking. If you have further questions, we will be happy to answer. Thank you