Fake Canadian Immigration Team

[ForPR]

There are few people who claim that they are from Immigration Department -Ottawa
I would like to share my story and just for heads-up!!!

Hello ALL,
Dt. 18-Nov-2013.
This is in regarding a Call which I had received in the morning at 9:37 am for 1 hour 11 minutes from an UNKNOWN Number and person (Name: Joshue Robert) had mentioned that they are calling from an Immigration department-Ottawa to update my Indian Overseas Citizenship number # SK478932145980IND.
*SK - My initials...

Joshue Robert: He had my date of birth details, email, my residential address and some relevant information regarding Permanent Residency (Immigration). As per him, they have got a request from an Indian Embassy (Indian Immigration) to update my "Indian Overseas Citizenship" number. For that, there are two ways that I can do that, either I have to go back India in order to update the status or I can do here in Canada and amount will be of CAD 725.00 (425 will be refundable in 2 business days by cheque)and he had asked my Bank details which I couldn't provide. As per our discussion, he had mentioned that an Immigration Officer (Mr. Mark Webber) will visit to my location tomorrow (dt. 19-Nov-2013) in order to verify my passport and related documents of my wife and before that I need to make a payment through Canadian Imperial Bank.

Later on, he transferred my call to their Account’s section and got connected to Lisa Morgan for more details; then she opened up my file and asked few details such as about my visa status, My wife’s details (her OWP and PR), my acknowledgement letter and receipt number which I have received from an Immigration department towards my PR and the same story to make a payment of CAD $725.00.

She had said quite few things which made me to realize that it is a genuine call from Immigration department. She was telling as my and wife’s case has been pending since long time because of IOC status needs to be updated as soon as possible and I have to visit western Union today to make that payment towards Michal Rosen who is my solicitor in India and taking care of my wife’s file at Candian High Commision in Delhi 7/8 Shanitpuri, Chanakyapuri, New Delhi – 110021 otherwise my wife’s file might be closed just because of delaying and I have refused to make a payment. Then LISA MORGAN has provided me the information of nearest Western Union that I can visit and make a payment by today and that will take 20 mins from my place and meantime she will update all my details to send an e-mail and got disconnected. They called me again in 20 mins to make sure that I am on my way to Western Union and insisted me to make the payment towards Michal Rosan and tell that it is just a Bill payment at the counter.

NOTE: While our conversation: I have provided my PR file number, receipt of the payment $550.00, month I have file my PR application, Passport number and as pert them nothing has to do with my lawyer.

~~~ Cheers and stay safe!!!

 

[CEC2013]

WOW!!

Did they have accurate information on your file? As in, were the DOB, application #, UCI and other details accurate?

This is very concerning if it is. How would they get ahold of this? Did you disclose any of your information to anyone? Did you use a third party for any services related to your application?

If all of what you said is true, and they are trying to scam you, you need to report this to CPP-O/CIC, CBSA and RCMP immediately. Your first contact should be with either CPP-O or CBSA. Need to notify them that your file has been compromised. CBSA should be alerted in case any of your information is sold and identity theft takes place. You want to ensure that you dont encounter issues at the border. RCMP should also be involved, in case there is a need for an investigation.

I'd say that this also warrants local/national authorities in your home country be notified. If it was me, I would look into how all of your information was leaked. If it turned out it was someone from the Embassy, my first phone call is to RCMP and DFAIT. Another concern is also the fact that they mentioned "this has nothing to do with your lawyer" ... I would be careful about that as well.

This is all based on the understanding that they were trying to scam you (how I understood it). Correct me if I'm wrong. And thanks for sharing!!

 

[mannte]

email this to CIC and CBSA

 

[CEC2013]

Dont let them go unpunished (or at least put on the watch list or a CIC notice about potential fraud)!! They may take some other unsuspecting persons or families for what they have. Report them to CBSA and protect yourself by reporting this to CIC.

http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/information/protection/fraud/report.asp

 

[wasda_punjab]

there is a third party app for cic immigration status checking in the app store. may be people are taking advantage of information being shared on the app.. make sure no one downloads that and share their info with anyone. your privacy is in your own hands..

 

[mrFoce]

there is a third party app for cic immigration status checking in the app store. may be people are taking advantage of information being shared on the app.. make sure no one downloads that and share their info with anyone. your privacy is in your own hands..

That app might be legit , but it might also be created by people with bad intentions. Why would anyone use some 3rd party app anyways for a status that only changes once in a while, just use the browser....

Make sure you write down the times of these phone calls (including duration) and inform the Canadian Border Agents about it. They can attempt to figure out where the calls came from, but I wouldn't be surprised if these were international calls .

 

[Omshri]

This is happening in USA as well. Our employer already alerted employees.

 

[from_mumbai]

careful!! Its like the movie 'Identity thief' consequences can be terrible..

 

[BadLuck]

Hello ALL,
Dt. 20-Nov-2013.

There are few people who claim that they are from Immigration Department -Ottawa
I would like to share my story and just for heads-up!!!

This is in regarding a Call which I had received in the noon at 2:00 pm for 3 hours from Number [416-362-9842 and then 9751591628] and person (Name: Lisa Morgan) had mentioned that they are calling from an Immigration department-Ottawa to update my Indian Overseas Citizenship number # KB020886IND.
*KB - My wife's initial

Lisa Morgan: She had my date of birth details, email, my residential address and some relevant information regarding Permanent Residency (Immigration). As per her, they have got a request from an Indian Embassy (Indian Immigration) to update my "Indian Overseas Citizenship" number. For that, there are two ways that I can do that, either I have to go back India in order to update the status or I can do here in Canada and amount will be of CAD 725.00 (425 will be refundable in 2 business days by cheque)and she had asked my Bank details which I couldn't provide.

As per our discussion, she had mentioned that an Validation Officer (Mr. Mark Webber) will visit to my location tomorrow (dt. 21-Nov-2013) in order to verify my passport and related documents of my wife and before that I need to make a payment through MoneyGram.

Later on, he transferred my call to their Validation section and got connected to Mark Webber for more details; then he opened up my file and asked few details such as about my visa status, My wife's date of birth and visa applied for, and again for CAD $725.00.

He was telling as my and wife's case has been pending since long time because of IOC status needs to be updated as soon as possible and I have to visit MoneyGram today to make that payment towards Eva Maria who is my solicitor in India and taking care of my wife's file at Candian High Commision in Delhi 7/8 Shanitpuri, Chanakyapuri, New Delhi – 110021 otherwise my wife's file might be closed just because of delaying and if I refused to make a payment. Then Mark Webber told me that today he will take 20 mins to update all my details to send and asked me to pay all money to EVA MARIA,New Delhi and let them know my reference number.

Then they tells me to pay again $725 for my citizenship file and $2500 as a fine for not providing IOC number during application.

Be careful friends some are using immigration departments name to make money. I lost $4725 dollars in one go, savings for few months :-(!! just wanting to do .......

~~~ Not in a happy mood at all ...... but don't be a fool like me
[/quote]

 

[CEC2013]

Then they tells me to pay again $725 for my citizenship file and $2500 as a fine for not providing IOC number during application.
Be careful friends some are using immigration departments name to make money. I lost $4725 dollars in one go, savings for few months :-(!! just wanting to do .......
~~~ Not in a happy mood at all ...... but don't be a fool like me

OMG! Did you report this to CBSA and CIC? If you havent, you should inform them and give them as much detail as you can. These people are unbelievable. Praying on unsuspecting immigrants that struggle to start their lives over....they make me sick.

 

[new_guy]

I feel sorry for the ppl who have been a victim of such a crime and thank you very much for alerting other ppl.

You are nice human beings and nice things will come to you eventually.

 

[zardoz]

Why is the phraseology in these two "reports" so similar? Is it plagiarism or are they in fact the same person "trolling"?

Either way, if there is any truth in either of them, it's a good example of a scam to be aware of.

http://whocallsme.com/Phone-Number.aspx/4163629842 Pretty sure it's a call forwarding service, using VOIP to transfer from anywhere else in the world.

 

[iam_toby]

Scary that people get that kind of information and have access to it.

Maybe people could post where they shared information about their PR application?

 

[iam_toby]

I emailed Fraud Canada in that matter, and will keep you posted. It hasn't happened to me, but this is not the first
user to experience and receive those calls.

For everyone receiving those calls, this is the response I got:

This is an auto-response, please do not reply.

Thank you for contacting The Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre (CAFC). Your e-mail has been received. Due to the high volume of e-mails, you will not receive a reply.

If you are a victim of identity fraud, have lost money, not received goods or services, are in the process of sending money or have a question or concern, please contact our toll free number 1-888-495-8501 and speak to a representative. Due to high call volume, you may experience an excessive wait time.

Please be aware that the CAFC is a central repository for fraud data. Our Criminal Intelligence Analysis Unit provides support to law enforcement agencies by analyzing fraud data submitted to the CAFC. We strongly recommend that consumers also report all fraud related matters to their local police agency.

The Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre advises consumers not to open unsolicited emails or when the sender is unknown. Spam usually means scam. Just delete them!

For more information, please do not hesitate to visit our website: www.antifraudcentre.ca

 

[iam_toby]

Please keep sharing your experience with said calls to raise awareness to others.