Paid for UK visa online? Your passport and selfie may have been exposed in alleged data leak

A website called UK Visa Portal has reportedly been leaking sensitive documents of people who used the platform to apply for a UK immigration visa. According to TechCrunch, the exposed files include applicants’ passport copies and selfie photos, which were uploaded as part of the application process. The website is not linked to the UK government. However, some users have reportedly said that they mistakenly paid this website instead of applying through the official GOV.UK platform.

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The issue was brought to TechCrunch’s attention by an anonymous person, who claimed that at least 1,00,000 documents were publicly exposed. TechCrunch said it confirmed that UK Visa Portal was the source of the leak and also verified some of the exposed data by contacting affected people directly.

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This is worrying because passports and selfie photos are highly sensitive documents. If such information falls into the wrong hands, it can be misused for identity theft, fraud or other illegal activities.

UK Visa Portal does not even provide a proper way to report security problems on its website. The site also does not list the names or contact details of its management.

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As per the report, UK Visa Portal’s management has still not responded, and the security issue has not been fixed. TechCrunch said it is not revealing the exact details of the flaw to avoid putting applicants at further risk. However, it believes users should know about the issue while it remains unresolved.

For anyone planning to apply for a UK electronic travel authorisation or immigration visa, it is important to use the official UK government website. A third-party service is not required unless you are working with an immigration lawyer.

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Ayushi Jain

Ayushi works as Chief Copy Editor at Digit, covering everything from breaking tech news to in-depth smartphone reviews. Prior to Digit, she was part of the editorial team at IANS. View Full Profile