India, 26th November 2025: With a surge in digital impersonation and visa-related scams globally, VFS Global, the global leader in trusted technology services, empowering secure mobility for governments and citizens, has scaled up its long-running #DoNotFallForFraud social media initiative. The programme is now amplified further through employee-led messaging and multilingual advisories and a robust crackdown on fake social media pages targeting visa applicants.
Now in its eighth year, the campaign has emerged as one of the company’s most recognised public-education efforts, generating an estimated 30 million views since inception, including 10 million impressions in 2025 alone, according to the brand.
To ensure this resonates with visa applicants, VFS Global has introduced employee-led video advisories across its social channels. Featuring the company’s diverse workforce, the videos serve as a guide on the best practices such as how to book appointments only through official channels, identifying fake “guaranteed slots”, avoiding unauthorized payments, and safeguarding personal data.
The series is available in multiple languages, including English, Hindi, Tagalog and Arabic, ensuring relevance across its footprint of 160+ countries and running alongside anti-fraud campaign posts adapted in over 10 global languages, including Spanish, Portuguese, French, Bengali, Sinhalese, Bahasa, and Chinese, to name a few.
VFS Global’s Chief Operating Officer for Global Operations, Mr. Srinarayan Sankaran, said, “Protecting applicants from fraud is not a one-time campaign for us — it is a continuous responsibility. Taking down these fake pages on a proactive basis has prevented more than 1.5 million followers from receiving misinformation. These efforts directly support our #DoNotFallForFraud initiative by ensuring applicants rely only on our official channels when booking appointments or seeking updates. As a trusted partner to governments worldwide, we remain committed to providing the right information and content related to the visa submission process.”
Additionally, VFS Global has reinforced a mechanism to remove impersonator accounts spreading misinformation about visa slots, payments and guaranteed approvals. The brand has so far, been successful in taking down 700+ fake pages misusing its name, logo etc. across Facebook, Instagram, X, LinkedIn, YouTube and other platforms like Weibo and WeChat in China. These fraudulent pages had collectively amassed over 1.5 million followers, which are on par with the current cumulative global follower base of VFS Global’s official handles.
VFS Global’s fraud awareness efforts run throughout the year, amplified during peak travel and student visa seasons. The brand also leverages topical moments such as Safer Internet Day, Data Privacy Day, World Emoji Day, April Fool’s Day among others to reinforce safe online behaviour. From sharing OTPs to clicking unverified links or falling for WhatsApp groups claiming access to early appointment slots, each piece of content addresses a distinct user behaviour.
In parallel, the company has seen an uptick for Visa At Your Doorstep (VAYD) — a personalised service that allows applicants to complete their visa process from home or office. VFS Global attributes the rise to greater consumer demand for convenience, safety and advance planning. This also aligns closely with the company’s objective of reducing dependency on unverified agents and helping applicants avoid last-minute, high-priced appointment scams.
As visa fraud continues to evolve, the company states that its communication strategy will remain centred on clarity, authenticity and proactive intervention, ensuring applicants worldwide begin their journeys with confidence.
