Why this happens
When a project gets attention, other sites appear using its name, photos and even its logo. Some belong to brokers. Some exist only to collect phone numbers. Your enquiry may end up with many callers, and you may read details that are wrong.
Check one: the registration number
Find the RERA number on the site. Search it on the state RERA website. Does the project name match? Does the promoter name match? A site with no registration number at all is a warning, because section 3(1) of RERA bars marketing an unregistered project, and registered projects are expected to show their number in ads.
Check two: the company name in the footer
Scroll to the bottom. A builder's site usually names the company behind it. Compare it with the promoter name on RERA. A site that says only "authorised channel partner" or names no company at all is not the builder.
Check three: contact details
Does the phone number match the one on the builder's other official material? Does the email use the builder's own domain, or a free email address? Is there a real office address?
Check four: claims the builder does not make
If a site shows a price, a discount or a possession date that the builder's own channels do not show, be suspicious. Lookalike sites often invent offers to make you call.
Check five: documents behind a form
A builder may share some documents only after you enquire. That is normal. But the registration number itself is public. A site that hides even that until you hand over your number is collecting leads, not informing buyers.
Check six: where the links go
Official sites tend to link to the RERA page of the project and to their parent or group company. Lookalikes rarely link anywhere you could check them.
The quick version
- RERA number present and matching.
- Company name matches the promoter.
- Contact details match official ones.
- No offers you cannot find elsewhere.
- Registration number visible without a form.
- Links you can follow and verify.
Payments: the one rule that matters most
Never pay a booking amount through a link, a QR code or a personal UPI ID that came from a website or a caller you have not verified. A genuine booking is paid to an account in the builder's own company name. Section 4(2)(l)(D) of RERA requires a separate bank account for each registered project, and your agreement for sale should name the account you pay into.
An illustrative example. A caller offers a “limited” ₹1,00,000 discount if you pay a ₹2,00,000 token today through a link. Before you pay anything, call the builder on the number printed on the RERA page or its own documents, and ask whether the offer and the account are real. A real offer will still be there an hour later.
Small signals worth noticing
- The padlock. A padlock in the browser means the connection is encrypted. It says nothing about who owns the site.
- The domain. A builder's site and its email usually share one domain. Watch for extra words or hyphens added to a project name.
- The urgency. Countdown timers and “only two units left” banners on a site you cannot verify are pressure, not information.
- The ads. Section 11(2) of RERA requires an advertisement of a registered project to show the RERA website address and the registration number.
Step by step if you think you have been misled
- Stop paying, and stop sharing documents.
- Contact the builder directly using details from the RERA record.
- If you have paid money to a fraudster, report it at once on the national cybercrime helpline, 1930, or at cybercrime.gov.in, and inform your bank.
- Keep screenshots of the website, ads, chats and payment receipts.
- If a registered promoter's own ad misled you, you can complain to the state RERA authority.
Common mistakes
- Trusting the first search result. Paid ads can appear above the official site.
- Sharing PAN or Aadhaar copies before you have confirmed who you are dealing with.
- Believing a price that is too good because it appeared on a polished website.
A checklist before you share your details
- Registration number visible, and matching the RERA record.
- Company name in the footer matches the promoter.
- Phone number and email match the builder's other official material.
- No price, discount or date that the builder's own channels do not show.
- No request for payment through a link, a QR code or a personal UPI ID.
What a genuine builder site should make easy
A genuine site makes the boring things easy to find: the registration number, the company name, a working phone number and an office address. It should not push you to pay online before a site visit, and it should be glad when you check it against the RERA record. If checking a website feels difficult, that difficulty is itself information.
When in doubt, it is always safe to close the tab and call the number printed on the project's RERA page. Nothing you might miss online is worth more than knowing who you are talking to.
If you have already given your number
Do not panic. Many callers will be brokers rather than fraudsters. Tell each caller you are dealing with the builder directly, and do not share documents or pay anyone. Under the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India's rules on unsolicited commercial communication, you can register your preferences through your mobile operator's Do Not Disturb service and report spam calls. Then make your enquiry through the builder's official number, so there is one clear line of contact for your purchase.
The safest habit of all is simple: find the builder through the RERA record first, and only then through a search engine. The record cannot be bought with an ad, and it gives you the promoter's name, address and project details from a source you can trust. Every other website can then be checked against it in a minute.
For Reeva, the official details are simple: The Shalott Marque, RERA PRM/KA/RERA/1251/308/PR/180826/008871, phone +91 91838 91839. Everything else is on the project page.