The government has warned against a fake website issuing recruitment advertisements in the name of Sagarmala project. In a statement, the Ministry of Shipping said that the fake website, which has the url www.sagarproject.com, is sending emails to job seekers and other genuine stakeholders of Sagarmala programme.

“This fake website that may appear to be similar or identical to the original Sagarmala Website contains a false advertisement about recruitment of Engineer trainee and Diploma trainee,” the Ministry said warning those behind the fake website of criminal action.

“It may be noted, that such acts of fraud, misrepresentation, falsification and fabrication of information as seen here are clear violations under the Information Technology Act and the Indian Penal Code, for which swift and strict criminal actions are being initiated against all such fraudulent entities,” said the government.

The government also reminded stakeholders that the official name and domain of the Sagarmala Programme is http://www.sagarmala.gov.in.

The fake website looks almost identical to the original website, complete with India’s emblem. Like the original website, the fake website, too, has a photo gallery and a video gallery that display pictures of the ministers and officials associated with the programme.

The fake website also has the same sub-pages as in the original website. For instance, when one clicks on the ‘Background’ section in the ‘About Sagarmala’ tab from the top ribbon on the original website, the user is redirected to a page containing the information. The fake website returns the same information when a user accesses it from a ribbon that contains the same tabs as in the original website.

The fake website had not been taken down at the time of writing.

This is not the first time that the government has warned against a fake Sagarmala website. On 6 September 2018, the government had cautioned people about a fake website with the url http://sagarmala.org.in, which contained advertisements about recruitment of Engineer trainee and Diploma trainee.

The fake website is no longer functional.