The Better Business Bureau is warning consumers to be cautious when buying or renewing a passport online.

Third-party companies that claim to help people renew their passports may get nothing in return. In addition, customers will be giving up their personal information.

Newheart Ohanian, an independent contractor who occasionally travels for work, was in a hurry to renew her passport for an upcoming work trip. In her haste, she didn't take a close look at the website she came across.

"I just kind of Googled, 'passport application,'” says Newheart, “and it was the first link that came up."

When she tried to follow up on the status of her application with the Department of State, Newheart was unpleasantly surprised.

“They said I’m not in the system,” says Newheart, “And it is at that moment that they warned me that there are third-party websites that are set up...for fraudulent use.”

It turns out Newheart had not actually been on the State Department’s website. She’s paid money and given all her personal information to a third-party company.

Newheart isn’t alone. The Better Business Bureau says it gets hundreds of complaints every year about third-party companies that claim to help people renew their passports.

“I looked at BBB Scam Tracker this morning,” says Clair Rosenzweig, of the BBB. “Just in the last week, there are people who have reported being scammed by these companies.”

Some companies, like US Passports and Visa and US Passport Online, actually say on their websites that they are not associated with any government agency. Others may not. Rosenzweig says either way, consumers should avoid them.

“They end up giving these companies their personal information. They end up paying for forms they would get for free,” says Rosenzweig. “Not only are you losing your money, but you’re putting your identity in jeopardy.”

If you wind up paying money or giving your personal information to a website that you thought was a government agency, the BBB says there are steps you should take: