CANADA WARNS PUBLIC OF IMMIGRATION SCAMS

August 20, 2018—The Government of Canada, through Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC), is warning the public about pages on social media making false claims that they are connected to the Government of Canada and can guarantee successful immigration to Canada.

Individuals have created Facebook pages (primarily in Arabic) where they pose as immigration consultants. They falsely claim to be affiliated with the Canadian government and offer clients a “guaranteed” immigration to Canada.

Some scammers are also using social media to contact individuals directly and pretend to offer a path to immigrate to Canada. Individuals in Turkey and Lebanon have recently been the target of such scams, and have paid thousands of dollars to ghost consultants whose promises were all lies.

IRCC reminds anyone wishing to immigrate to Canada keep the following in mind:

• IRCC will never use social media to provide resettlement services.
• To resettle in Canada, you must be referred through the United Nations Refugee Agency, a designated referral organization, or a private sponsorship group.
• IRCC will never request documents or payments through social media platforms such as Facebook or WhatsApp.
• IRCC will never telephone, or otherwise contact, individuals to offer resettlement services or immigration to Canada.
• If you choose to hire a representative to help you immigrate to Canada, you should take steps to make sure they are authorized to represent you.

IRCC also cautions that even if a social media page bears Government of Canada official symbols, such as the “Canada” wordmark or a Canadian flag, this does not guarantee it is affiliated with the Canadian government. Some scammers are illegally using Government of Canada official marks and images to appear as though they are connected to Canada when they are not.