Fraud Case Study 16 - Fake Immigration Agents

Case Description:

I contacted an Alibaba.com member named Rick Larson. He promised that he could get work permits to Canada for 105 of my clients. In February 2007, I paid him US$150 per client (US$15,750 in total).From the start, he promised that the processing time was only going to be 2 weeks. I have now been waiting for more than 6 months without getting any results. I can see that, for the past 9 months, he has been sending me fake information. I asked him to refund all the money I paid because it's now very clear that he was cheating me. In addition, I have been facing many problems from the 105 clients and have refunded the money they paid me from my own pocket.

Rick Larson did not send me any documents and did not refund my money. I discovered he is using a fake address for his company by asking a friend in Canada to visit the company address. It was totally wrong and the address was for a Chinese restaurant who have never heard of Rick Larson.

Case Analysis:

Method

Some scammers pretend to be legal immigration agents who can provide legal work permits to other countries. In reality, they are not authorised immigration agents at all.

Avoid Fraud

1. Be cautious. Generally, these agents will guarantee a work permit for your clients, and charge the application fee in advance. However, they don't ask for detailed information on the applicants. e.g. Résumé, Certification or work experience information. This information is very important when applying for a work visa program.
2. When applying for a visa through foreign agencies, make sure to check if the person you are dealing with is genuine. In this case, it would be possible to check with the Canadian Government to find out whether the agent is an authorized immigration agent who can process work permits.
3. It is also very important to check the background information of your potential business partners. In Canada, you can use the Canada Postal Code Address Look Up service. This will, at least, tell you that a company exists at the address provided. You can also search on the Internet or ask on the Alibaba.com Community Forum.
4. Investigating potential business partners is essential to avoid being a victim of Internet Fraud.