Canada warns potential immigrants to beware of scams by agents

Canada’s immigration authority is warning would-be migrants about an ever-increasing number of scammers posing as immigration agents.

Internet sites, emails, TV advertisements, radio, magazines and newspapers are all used by rogue immigration agents looking to part unsuspecting immigrants from their cash. Fraudulent agents’ numbers are increasing as fast as the numbers of would-be immigrants looking to make a new life for themselves overseas.

Websites and emails are the easiest and cheapest ways for immigration scammers to operate, with professional-looking sites able to be designed and uploaded quickly. Many such websites give tempting hints on living in Canada and offer expedited visas at a fee set much higher than the charge made by the Canadian Government.

Fraudulent websites have been known to promise guaranteed visas, disappearing after a short while with clients’ money and setting up a while later under a new name. The use of the free email services provided by Gmail, Yahoo, etc are one sign that an immigration agency may not be what it seems, and all online agencies should be checked out via an authorised Canadian government listing.

Cold-calling by dodgy immigration agencies is another scam, in which an official government phone number is spoofed technologically and used to call potential immigrants and those who’ve already made applications. Callers pose as immigration officials, often demanding an immediate payment to prevent an application being refused.

Immigration business scams are harder to detect and are usually run by those with previous involvement in the sector. These usually promise early application processing or promises of guaranteed employment at inflated wages provided extra fees are paid.

Those applying to migrate to Canada are urged to check and double check given details of any agency which contacts them by any of the above means. Personal details should never be given over the phone, extra fees are never charged by the immigration department and website URLs should be checked for warnings or complaints.