How To Protect Yourself From Immigration Fraud as International Student?

Study Visa Fraud in Canada:  Recently we have witnessed immigration fraud in Canada with international students. These students were a soft target for scammers as they understood that these students will do anything to study in Canada. In this blog, we will help you to know how to protect yourself from immigration fraud as an international student with some tips and tricks.

What is Study Visa Fraud in Canada?

Before proceeding with tips, first, you should understand what exactly happened in Canada. According to several media brands, nearly 700 students got scammed. According to Canadian Border Security Agency, these students provided fake documents to get offer letters from Canadian Universities. Later it is found that their visa consultant provided the fake documents.

Types of Immigration Fraud to Target International Students

Studying abroad sounds a bit challenging for students. The fear of getting scammed is one of the primary reasons behind this. We have mentioned four different immigrant frauds that are being used to target international students. 

Also Read: How long does it take to get a Student Visa?

Ghost Consultant

There are plenty of cons in the market that are not licensed by any government authority. They take money in terms of fees to offer study abroad services. These cons disconnect all the ways of communication and ghost the students. This is why, we called them “Ghost” consultants.

Fake Job Offers

Most candidates who apply to study in Canada, want to have permanent residents of Canada. Getting Canadian work experience is the easiest way for this. Students get scammed with fake job offers and they pay some amount to get the job after the study.

Phishing

Scammers try to communicate with students by using email or other communication ways. The objective of these emails is to get sensitive information about the candidate, so scammers can extract money. Such scams happen at the beginning of the immigration process. At that time, students do not have proper information about Candidan Immigration laws.

Promise of Accommodation

You reached Canada or your VISA process is completed. Now, you will look for an affordable housing option. Somehow, scammers get your contact and promise to offer an ideal, comfortable living space. The time you give them money as their fee, they get disappear with your hard-earned money.

To avoid such fraud, you have to be proactive and verify every single detail with official information. We have mentioned a few tricks that will be helpful to identify them.

Tips to Avoid Immigration Fraud in Canada

I’m sure, after knowing about such frauds you also want to know how to avoid Canadian immigration scams. In this section, we will discuss all those tips.

• IRCC Do Not Contact Anyone for Fees- The major red flag you get when you attend a call from a fake representative of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC). Keep in mind that IRCC does not call anyone for asking fees and fines related to any issue. Now, as you know this fact, you know what to do when you get such calls next time.
• Check the IRCC website for Info- Since the number of people who want to go to Canada is increasing every year, scammers are developing more ways to scam. They create a similar website to IRCC for scamming. Note that, for any information, rely only on the official website of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC).
• Verify the Legitimacy- Candidates can verify the legitimacy of a person that is authorized by the Canadian Provincial or Territorial Law Society to practice in a particular province. Use IRCC tools to verify the person.
• “Everything is Good” without any guarantee- If everything seems to be so smooth without any official guarantee then it is a red flag. 

We hope these tips will help you to avoid immigration scams like Canada. For more information about study VISA visit Leverage Edu. Keep Following Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and Twitter.