South Africans, keen to emigrate, are being swindled out of thousands of rands by scammers who promise to get them entry into Canada.

Victims who are truly committed to emigrating from South Africa, combined with Canada’s genuine plan to attract one million new immigrants over the next three years, have come together to create a set of circumstances that immigration consultants are calling “the perfect crime”.

One South African family has lost close to R100 000 to scammers who promised to get them into Canada, reports Business Insider.

To make matters worse, if you are scammed, you’re unlikely to report it.

Admitting to having been involved in a scheme to defraud immigration authorities – even as victim – could also affect even normal visitor visa prospects for the likes of the United Kingdom and New Zealand too, Avramis says, so anyone who wants to leave South Africa is unlikely to report the crime.

…”That’s the genius of the scam,” says Nicholas Avramis of Cape-Town based Beaver Immigration Consulting. “If you go public and the Canadian government finds out, whether what you did was illegal or not, you’ll never get into Canada.”

The renewed political and economic uncertainty in South Africa has also created a whole new market for scammers to tap into.

In one test, says [Robbie Ragless, managing director of New World Immigration], they created a “ghost profile” of a 55-year-old menial labourer, “literally the least promising immigration candidate ever”. That fake profile was guaranteed entry into Canada, in one of the cases New World is now reporting to the Canadian government.

Neither Avramis nor Ragless are entirely sure why their clients would fall for such fraud, despite the Canadian government’s efforts to warn of immigration scams and helpful tools such as a checklist of warning signs that you may be dealing with a scam immigration website.

A mixture of desperation, confusion about bureaucratic rules, and a simple belief that anyone charging a lot of money must be legitimate all seem to contribute, though.

If you’re planning on emigrating, and don’t want to be a dope about it, here’s what you should look out for:

South Africans seem to be targeted in several different types of emigration scams. Some involve “guaranteed jobs” in Canada (though a job offer alone is not sufficient for entry into that country), others offer “assessments” at fees of up to $800 per person.

The Canadian government recommends neither paying money nor providing personal information to anyone but a trusted provider, as even personal details can be misused, or be a starting point for extortion.

Immigration services that are not regulated by Canadian law society the ICCRC, or the Chambre des notaires du Québec, are not allowed, by law, to accept money for services rendered.

And if it seems too good to be true, it probably is.

[source:businessinsider]