ICCRC Updates on Immigration Scams
According to ICCRC updates, there is an increased amount of reports of cross-Canada telephone scam. You should let your clients be aware of similar phone calls thus protecting them from giving their personal information and paying money to so-called immigration officers.
Typically the fraudulent calls are similar to the following examples:
– People who are calling introduce themselves as immigration officers and ask for additional personal information such as date of birth, passport number, social security number (SIN) or bank account information;
– The callers are scaring people by quoting laws and insisting on paying an immediate fine in order to avoid undesired consequences: deportation, arrest, loss of immigration status and others.
How to protect your clients from immigration scams?
It is recommended that you educate your clients about Regulated Canadian Immigration Consultants (RCIC) policies and effective practices:
- Immigration will not contact clients over the phone in order to collect fines.
- Immigration will not ask for payment through private money transfer providers, pre-paid credit cards, ask clients to wire money to a foreign country or deposit money into a personal bank account. Instead, immigration encourages people to pay their fees through their banks or by using CIC website payment options.
- Immigration is not using free email services, such as Hotmail or Yahoo Mail for official communications.
- Immigration also has to remind their clients that Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) cannot guarantee anyone a job or a visa to Canada. Only immigration officers in Canada, at Canadian embassies, high commissions and consulates can decide to issue a visa.
- Individuals who plan to immigrate to Canada can find the fees for most of the applications at the official Government of Canada website.
Processing fees are the same for all services provided by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) and are set up in local currency on official exchange rates.
Check the latest ICCRC updates concerning Immigration Scams here.
