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OTTAWA — Visitors to Canada are still getting scammed by fake websites as they apply for mandatory electronic travel authorization, with officials receiving hundreds of complaints in the past year.

The National Post reported a year ago almost 500 complaints about unofficial websites had been received since the government began processing electronic travel authorizations (eTAs) in August 2015.

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The number is now up to almost 950, and immigration officials tell the Post this week there has been “no change” in the status of the problem. Many hapless travellers are still unwittingly offering their personal information to non-government websites as they prepare to visit Canada.

Now, with hindsight, I feel dumb but on the other hand, this sort of scam was beyond my imagination

Those caught up in scams are sometimes paying up to 18 times the actual cost of an eTA. The fee for the authorizations, now required for visitors from many countries, is just $7, but complaints to the department have stated costs of between 35 and 85 euros, Chan said, or up to $124 in Canadian dollars.

This spring, the Post heard from a person in Amsterdam who said they’d been charged the equivalent of $128 for themselves and three family members to obtain eTAs, having used a website that appeared legitimate.

“After some research I understood that I was ripped off,” they wrote. “Now, with hindsight, I feel dumb but on the other hand, this sort of scam was beyond my imagination.”

The department appears to be doing little to mitigate these issues. Ostensibly, officials can’t pursue legal action unless websites pretend to be the actual immigration department. “Many of these websites clearly indicate that they are not associated with the Government of Canada,” said spokeswoman Lindsay Wemp. They are described by the government as offering “eTA services,” rather than outright scams.

The actions the department has taken in the past year included posting a “Don’t get scammed”videoto the web in October (viewed shy of 4,000 times on YouTube), using social media accounts to warn travellers and updating the text on the official eTA website to clarify it’s the “sole official website for travellers to apply,” according to Wemp.