Every AISSEE season follows the same pattern. Lakhs of children appear for the exam. Results come out. And then, quietly, the fraudsters start working.
They know the timeline. They know when families are most anxious - right after results, right before counselling closes, right after a child receives a medical rejection. They operate in parent networks, WhatsApp groups, coaching circles, and increasingly through professional-looking websites and paid advertisements.
The Sainik School Society has stated this clearly in official AISSAC documentation: the counselling is free of cost, no third party is authorised, and families should beware of fraudsters. That warning is there because the threat is real and recurring.
Here are the specific red flags - the patterns that should make you stop, verify, and disengage immediately.
Red Flag 1 - Someone Contacts You First
The official AISSAC 2026 process does not contact families proactively by phone, WhatsApp, or SMS. Seat allotment notifications, round results, and registration reminders appear on the official portal at pesa.ncog.gov.in/sainikschoolecounselling. That's where official communication happens.
If someone calls you, messages you on WhatsApp, or reaches you through any channel that isn't the official portal or an email from an official government domain - treat it with immediate suspicion.
Fraudsters know approximately when AISSEE results are released. They know when the counselling window opens. Some even have access to coaching institute networks where they can identify which families had children appear in the exam. The call feels targeted because it is - but the information they're working from is publicly available or obtained through informal networks, not through any official channel.
The moment someone contacts you unprompted with Sainik School admission ↗ information - that's red flag number one.
Red Flag 2 - Any Request for Payment
This one is absolute. No grey areas.
The entire AISSAC 2026 counselling process - registration, choice filling, seat allotment, every round - is free of cost. There are no processing charges. No registration fees. No category verification fees. No "NTA coordination charges." No helpdesk access fees.
The only official monetary transaction in the entire AISSEE 2026 process is the small review fee - Rs 100 for General and Rs 50 for SC/ST - paid directly to the school's administration if a candidate formally appeals a medical rejection verdict. That is the only exception, and it is paid to the school directly, not to any agent, helpdesk, or third party.
If anyone asks for money - any amount, for any reason, framed in any language - at any stage of the Sainik School admission process in 2026, they are committing fraud. There are no legitimate service providers who charge for this process. The process doesn't have paid components that can be accessed by third parties.
Red Flag 3 - Urgency and Pressure
The language of admission fraud is the language of urgency. "Only 3 seats left in your category." "Registration closes tonight." "We have one slot available but another family is also interested." "Pay by 5 PM or we can't hold your child's spot."
Legitimate admission processes have published timelines. The AISSAC 2026 counselling rounds have specific dates published on the official portal and the SSS website. No legitimate entity has a "seat" they are holding for your specific child that will expire unless you pay immediately.
Urgency is designed to prevent you from doing the one thing that would immediately expose the fraud - taking time to verify. Whenever someone creates extreme time pressure around a Sainik School payment, the right response is to slow down, not speed up.
Red Flag 4 - Guaranteed Seat Promises
Real Sainik School seat allotment is determined by the AISSAC portal based on your child's AISSEE rank, category, domicile, gender, and the school choices filled in the preference list. This is an automated, merit-based process.
No human - no SSS employee, no school principal, no coaching institute owner, no "well-connected contact" - can guarantee your child a specific seat through any means outside this automated system.
Common examples of fraudulent guarantee language: "Pay Rs 50,000 and we will secure a seat at Sainik School Chittorgarh for your child." "I know the admission officer - your child's name will be added to the merit list." "My contact in the medical board can change the fitness rating."
None of these claims are possible. AISSAC allotment is automated. Medical verdicts are issued by government medical officers, not controlled by anyone an agent has "contacts" with. Any person making a guarantee of any specific outcome in exchange for payment is either deluded or actively defrauding you.
Red Flag 5 - Unofficial URLs and Fake Portals
Scammers create websites that look nearly identical to the official AISSAC portal - same colour scheme, same layout, similar URL structure. Families who land on these fake portals submit personal information, application numbers, and sometimes payment - all going directly to the fraudster.
The official AISSAC portal is at pesa.ncog.gov.in/sainikschoolecounselling. The official SSS website is at sainikschoolsociety.in. The official NTA portal for AISSEE registration is exams.nta.ac.in/sainik-school-society.
Any other URL that includes words like "sainikschool," "aissee," "aissac," or "sss-admission" but does not match these exact official addresses should be treated as potentially fraudulent. Always navigate directly to the official portal by typing the URL yourself - do not click links received in WhatsApp messages, SMS, or unsolicited emails.
Red Flag 6 - Requests for AISSAC Portal Credentials
Your AISSAC portal login - application number and password - is what gives access to your child's counselling profile. Anyone who obtains these credentials can view your school choices, potentially change them, or use your registration data for further fraud.
No legitimate entity ever needs your AISSAC portal password. NTA doesn't ask for it. The Sainik Schools Society doesn't ask for it. Coaching institutes don't need it. If anyone - under any framing - asks for your AISSAC login credentials, refuse and immediately change your password on the official portal.
Red Flag 7 - Forged or Altered Documents
This is a more sophisticated form of scam - and it's real, as confirmed by past incidents where Sainik School authorities halted admissions after becoming suspicious over birth certificates and domicile certificates. In one documented case, students from states like Bihar and Uttar Pradesh had submitted documents falsely claiming domicile in a different state to access the home-state quota of a particular school.
If anyone offers to "arrange" a domicile certificate from a state where your child doesn't actually live, or offers to produce any document that would misrepresent your child's actual situation - refuse entirely. Document fraud in Sainik School admission isn't just a scam - it's a criminal act that can result in admission cancellation, legal action against the family, and permanent disqualification from future government processes.
The Sainik School Society conducts verification of original documents at the school. Forged documents are detected. The consequences are severe - and land entirely on the family, not the fraudster who produced them.
Red Flag 8 - WhatsApp Groups Claiming Official Status
Multiple parent WhatsApp groups operate during AISSEE season claiming to be "official AISSAC updates" groups or "Sainik School Society parent channels." None of these are affiliated with SSS or NTA.
These groups spread a mix of genuine information and misinformation - sometimes deliberately, sometimes through well-meaning members forwarding unverified content. They are also breeding grounds for fraudsters who join the group, monitor discussions, and then directly message parents who mention receiving a medical rejection or struggling with the portal.
For any piece of information received through a WhatsApp group - however credible it sounds - verify it directly on the official portal or official SSS website before acting on it.
What to Do If You Encounter a Scam
Don't pay. Don't share credentials. Don't engage further with whoever contacted you.
Report the incident immediately to the official channels: email [email protected] and [email protected] with the fraudster's contact details, the content of the communication, and any money transfer information if payment has already occurred.
If money has been taken, file an FIR with your local police and report to the National Cyber Crime portal at cybercrime.gov.in. These cases are prosecutable criminal fraud.