The Supreme Court of India's Registry issued a stern warning on November 3, cautioning the public about a fraudulent website impersonating its official portal. This advisory highlights a persistent and dangerous trend of phishing attacks.
The Deceptive New Threat
In its advisory,
the Supreme Court Registry identified a specific fake website with the URL 'scigovinjudicial.com'. The notice clarified that this site is designed to clone the court's official web presence to deceive the public. These impersonator sites are a form of phishing, a cybercrime where attackers trick users into surrendering sensitive information. The criminals behind this fake portal may try to solicit personal data, financial details, and confidential login credentials from unsuspecting citizens, lawyers, and litigants. The official and only genuine domain for the Supreme Court of India is 'sci.gov.in', a detail the Registry emphasized for public awareness.
A Recurring Pattern of Fraud
This is not an isolated incident. The November 3 advisory is the latest in a series of warnings from the Supreme Court. Previous public notices were issued on dates including July 16, 2025, April 28, 2026, and August 13, 2026, each highlighting different deceptive websites. This history, stretching back to at least August 2023, demonstrates a continuous effort by criminals to exploit the court's authority. By creating pixel-perfect clones of official websites, these scammers leverage public trust in institutions to lure victims. They often use the court's name and logo to create a false sense of security, making it difficult for many to spot the fraud before it's too late.
How to Spot a Fake Government Website
Vigilance is the best defence against such scams. The most crucial step is to carefully inspect the website's address or URL. A legitimate Indian central government website will almost always end in '.gov.in' or '.nic.in'. The fake site in this case uses '.com', a common tactic. Scammers often register domains that look similar to official ones, sometimes with subtle spelling errors or extra hyphens. It is also important to note that a padlock icon or 'https' in the URL indicates a secure connection, but it does not prove the website is official or legitimate. You should also be wary of any link that arrives unexpectedly via SMS, WhatsApp, or email, especially if it creates a sense of urgency.
What to Do If You've Shared Your Details
The Supreme Court advisory provides clear instructions for those who fear they may have been compromised. If you have entered any personal or financial information on a suspicious website, you must act quickly. The first step is to immediately change the passwords for all your online accounts, especially for the one that may have been compromised. Secondly, and most critically, if you shared any banking details, contact your bank without delay to report the unauthorized access and consider blocking your cards or freezing the account. The national cybercrime reporting helpline, 1930, is also available for assistance, particularly if financial loss has occurred.
Protecting Yourself from Future Scams
The core advice from the Registry is to be skeptical of unsolicited communications. The Supreme Court will never ask for your personal information, financial details, or passwords via its website or email. A key safety habit is to hover your mouse over any link before clicking to see the actual destination URL. Instead of clicking links in messages, it is always safer to type the official website address directly into your browser or use a trusted search engine to find the authentic portal. Enabling two-factor authentication (2FA) on all important accounts provides an essential second layer of defence, preventing access even if a scammer manages to steal your password.
