katq

Well, it is arguable whether they should be allowed to do that, because they obviously rely on people not reading the small print on the bottom of the page. But it looks like they have made it legally possible for scammers like these to deceive people. (to me that's what they are regardless of the small print message). I know I should have seen it, but I didn't - like many, many other people before me. Just because they have put a message in 5tp size font at the bottom of the page that doesn't make it ok. Plus they have put the "cbp" part in their website - do they suggest any connection with the U.S. Customs and Border Protection or is it just misleadingly similar to the original site? Anyway, I just hope that other people won't fall for this like I did. I found out now that last year there has been another site www.esta-online.co.uk which was on top of the google search and people were constantly complaining, now this site has gone and there is a new one in it's place: something should be done to make it more clear on the google search which one is the official site.

ian-mstm

Not from your perspective, I'm sure... but legally, that's all they need to do to!


Again, with respect, Google is not the Internet police. Google is a search engine... it's neither a validation nor verification engine. Companies pay extra to get their web site moved higher up in the search results... that's their prerogative. End users must still, and must always, exercise due diligence.

As you say, perhaps this will help someone else in similar circumstances.

Ian

nettlebed

Contact Google. They won't do dick about it, but if it makes you feel better...

MsElui

at least there is a fee now for real. My mum fell for this when she booked flights 2 years ago when ESTA was still officially free. Her travel company gave her a link which charged her for the pleasure of filling in the form for her from the details she had just typed in on their site herself. She got her ESTA approval but just ended up paying some site for it when she could have gone to the official site and done it for free.

Its not illegal - they just rely on people not being fully informed, not reading the whole page (incl small print) and not looking up the official link from an official site. If they were doing something with the info that they shouldnt - there would be restrictions in place. Charging you to do something you could do elsewhere cheaper is not illegal.

I was only annoyed when it happend to my mum- because I hadnt warned her in advance so she could be careful.

I would personally chalk this one up to experience and would not have bothered canceling cards etc.

katq

You are right, now I think may be it wasn't necessary to cancel my card, but when it happened I was so unprepared and I didn't know how to react: I read similar stories where people blocked their cards immediately and I also got an internet warning from one of the links on this website that it has been reported which got me so worried that I have done something wrong. So that was my immediate reaction, but now I see that the internet is full of these websites, most of them even seem to belong to the same company, like the one I fell for has at least 4 or 5 different sites that look exactly the same with the same company name at the bottom - the annoying part is that they just look like a phantom with no real contact details, but I guess if they did put them there, there would have been the ones to worry... Anyway, I was mostly worried about giving them confidential details, but the more I thought about it, the more I realised that they probably don't care about that. Plus these details aren't safe anywhere, I still remember why I cancelled my T-Mobile account after started getting 3 or 4 calls from third parties a day...but that's another story

Brit3964

I wouldn't be so sure about that. When I looked that site up and clicked on the "eligibility" section, my anti-virus/spyware program (AVG paid version) blocked it saying it was a suspected phishing website. It could of course be a false alarm. The other sections click ok without a warning. Either way, I think stopping bank cards etc was a good idea by the OP.

katq

Yes, I also get the suspected phishing website message, It's interesting that today this site doesn't appear in the google top search any more when I typed in "Esta application". There is another sponsored link that doesn't work instead, but it seems to me that none of the other websites that were on the first page before are there anymore: is it just me or have they taken them down somehow? In any case, this website still works and as far as I looked them up, they (Westland Securities) appeared under a dozen other esta websites, including a health insurance website (again collecting payments there as a third party for some health insurance..) - they have also put a telephone number on the other sites that don't seem to be a valid number when I tried it. To me they are pretty dodgy and I think feel better that I am getting a new card now. Will see what will happen with the payment.

MarylandNed

My father-in-law fell for the same trick (although it might have been a different web site.) He didn't hear anything from them (no confirmation email or anything) so he called his credit card company 2 days later to report the scam. It took a while for him to convince them but the credit card company dealt with it (he got a refund and a new card). His argument was that he'd paid for a service that he didn't receive - the web site stated he would get a confirmation email shortly but he still didn't have one 2 days later when he contacted the credit card company. He never did hear from the ESTA company.

hobbes79

You also agreed to the Terms and Conditions in order to proceed with the transaction.

https://www.esta-approval.org/terms.php

11.5 You warrant that:
11.5.4 You understand that you are able to make applications for ESTA(s) independently at a cost of $14 (USD) each by visiting https://esta.cbp.dhs.gov/

It's unfortunate and they clearly aim at people not entirely familiar with the ESTA process, but you clearly clicked "Yes" to the question "I have read and agree to the website Terms of Service"

katq

I know that I also don't have the right to cancel the service or get a refund according to these terms and conditions and they took the payment in advance. Although I am not sure whether for a UK registered company it is not actually a customer's right to always be entitled to a cancellation within certain period...I immediately tried to email them and tell them that I want to cancel, but they never replied and sent me the esta confirmation yesterday. Anyway, if I can get a refund from my bank that would be good, if not: it won't ruin my life

ian-mstm

Perhaps you just don't fully understand the meaning of the word "scam".

Ian

sugababe

Brit3964

scam [skæm] Slang
n
a stratagem for gain; a swindle
vb scams, scamming, scammed
(tr) to swindle (someone) by means of a trick

http://www.thefreedictionary.com/scam

If it is a phishing website I'd say it would qualify as a scam by that definition.

ian-mstm

Just because AVG tagged it as a phishing site, it doesn't make it so. I won't burden you with the details of why I'm correct and you're not, but yours is a perfect example of what happens when someone has just enough knowledge to make assertions based on an incorrect premise.

Bottom line, it's not a scam site - but you (and AVG) are more than welcome to believe that it is... even if you're both wrong. That said, I will defend, to the death, your right to hold your beliefs! After all, that's the American way!

Ian

katq

I am not the most technical person, but I don't think it is the AVG that is tagging it as a phishing site. I get the same message on a mac with no AVG on it. The message that you get is a "suspected phishing site" - The website at www.esta-cbp.co.uk has been reported as a “phishing” site. "Phishing sites trick users into disclosing personal or financial information, often by pretending to represent trusted institutions, such as banks."

If I had seen that message on time, that would have been enough for me to immediately change my mind, and that's the purpose of the warning.