How far can you trust the internet?

While the internet is undoubtedly a great resource, it is also sadly rife with scams, lies and nonsense. Just recently, I was investigating how to get my passport renewed with a change. I had a deadline looming, so needed to fi nd the quickest and most secure way of dealing with the renewal. Years ago, I would have popped down to the passport offi ce, which is only about 15 minutes away from my offi ce, and this could have been done relatively easily. However, in these days of ‘everything is better online’, this is no longer possible. You have to go online just to book an appointment to go to the passport offi ce. If only it were that simple.

Joanna Connolly SPG Chair

I booked my appointment online. I was not able to use the Online Premium Service as it was not a straightforward renewal, there was an additional change so I used the 1 week Fast Track Service. A few days later, I went to the passport offi ce at the appointed time and handed in my application, which was checked for completeness while I was there. It then took a little less than a week for the passport to be delivered to my home – I would have preferred to have it sent to work, but that was not an option. Oddly, when it was delivered by standard post, it didn’t have to be signed for.

However, there was an error in the new passport- they had left out my professional name, even though this was clearly requested and fully evidenced in my application. How to get this corrected, and how long would it take? Back to the internet, which was little help, as this was a slightly odd error. I had to resort to the telephone. I eventually managed to fi nd an option within the automated telephone handling system which actually put me through to a person.

The person I spoke to was very helpful and kept checking with colleagues to try to fi nd a way of dealing with this correction prior to my now looming foreign trip. After about 45 minutes, we concluded that the only thing was to start all over again after my trip, as otherwise I could end up with no passport at all. While I could have returned the passport for correction based on it being the Passport Offi ce who had made the mistake, this would have been done free of additional charge, but I could not deliver it personally to the passport offi ce without fi rst booking online for an appointment and with that inbuilt delay it could not be guaranteed to be done quickly enough for my trip. Leaving the correction until after my trip meant that I had to pay the full passport fee again.

So, what does all the above have to do with the internet? The answer is ‘fake’ sites. I had spent a lot of time trying to fi nd answers to my question online, and while doing so, came across several sites purporting to be offi cial websites handling passport enquiries and processing. They cleverly ‘front’ the real websites but charge a processing fee. There are similar scam sites for DVLA matters. These sites will charge you a fee for processing documents when the government site does the same thing free of charge. The government websites always have .gov.uk in the website address, so always be vigilant.

It is very easy and cheap these days to setup a website, and there are so many domain types that it is easy to be confused. Originally the US used domains ending in .com and the UK used .co.uk, although many UK and international companies preferred .com Now there are domains ending in .org, .uk, .net, .uk, .co, .live, .eu etc. It is easy for a fraudster to setup a website with a domain that is close to the genuine one. I have just done a scan and found many dubious website domains that could be registered for just a few pounds, although I am not going to list them for obvious reasons.

Thankfully, many government departments register names to keep them out of the public domain. Many companies register all the potential domains for the same reason. Apple, for example register just about any permutation and combination possible, although I have been scanning, and found that Microsoft have missed registering a couple of domains that would fool most people quite easily.

While anyone reading this is likely to be at least reasonably computer literate, I can’t help but feel sorry for those who are not. The old and infi rm, those with poor eyesight or other disabilities must struggle with the onslaught of this ‘do it yourself’ way of doing things. While the banks, utility companies and government bodies would like us to think they are helping us and making life easier for us with all this technology, the reality is, they are doing it to save money. Let’s hope they pass all those cost savings on to the consumer, but I’m not going to hold my breath.