Is this a Scam? Fraud?

[bsdabhi]

Hey everyone..!!

I would like to share my story here. I still can't believe and still not sure if it was a scam or not..!!
I have my PR file under process in CIC under CEC category. I've also added my husband to my file as dependant. Me and my husband both are here on open work-permit (he has a work permit on my dependence).
Yesterday my husband got a call from a guy. He introduced himself as an agent from CIC. He told my husband that he is speaking from CIC and he needs to have some questions regarding the PR file. He told my husband that his UIN (Unique identification Number) is not registered at India. (CEC category in one form they ask for any piece of id from backhome. and thus me and my husband had put our UIN number in the file which got issued in India) is not registered. So it is delaying your file. Now you have two options. Either fly back to India in next 15 days or pay $788, so that we will make the furthur process and then you won't be having any troubles. And the money taht you are paying is just the proof that you submitted the valid id, its just that the problem occured in India. So we are gonna refund this monney to you back in 2-3 business days. after your payment is done I am gonna transfer you to a legal department of Canada and they will give you the receipt number of your payment and also you will get an email right after your payment including all the details. Also one officer will be coming to you tomorrow to check your ids. so you need to give him the photocopies of both yours passports and some other details. he also mentioned the name, that this officer is gonna visit you tomorrow. my husband made the payment. the strange thing was the guy was recording the call saying that your call is being recorded and you are not permitted to cut the call as the legal deparment of Canada is also on the other hand of this call. So we had to continue the call "all the time" .. even when we went to the canada post to do a money gram..EVEN WHEN WE WERE ON OUR WAY..!! after first payment the guy said ohh I see here that your wife's id is also not registered..! she has to pay $877. more money cuz shes primary applicant. my husband did second payment.. after that the said m transferrignyour to a legal deparment of canada the the transfered the call. the legal deparment guy said because you are a secondary applicant you cant make this payment in half. you have to pay both together. pay $1600..! my husband said i dont have that much limit in my debit card. the guy asked him to make acash and pay.. my poor husband withdraw cash $1600 and paid..!!!! after that they said we now need to speak to your wife. cuz shes a principle applicant. I work night shift so i was sleeping my husband woke me up. They started talking to me saying that you have a penalty of $3100. $1600 for you and $1500 for your husband. so either fly back or pay the money..!! I got mad right away m like how can this be possible..!! I asked the agent id number, his name, my file number and he provided all..! i said i need to verify this in person so I need to go to your office. he said thers a cic office at 1027 ficnh ave west, unit 164. I can make your appointment there. and when I went there, there was no such address available on the stated site..!! so i got the clue that this was fraud. he even said at the end that he is withdrawing my file because i dint pay and i said i do not have any problem. and he was like m transferring your call to account department. other guy came and sked for my file number, i said i dont have it on hand and then he hung up..!!
its avery long story but i cant write whole thing but this is the summery..! we still have no idea what happened..!!
so i am gonna call to cic tomorrow. and find out what happened to me.
now in this case CIC is not gonna fight for my gone money. If i want my money back then i'll definitely have to go to the police..!! so if in case i go to the police to register a scam , WOULD THAT BE AFFECTING/DELAYIGN MY PR FILE?? OR WILL THERE BE ANY IMPACT ON MY PR FILE BECAUSE OF POLICE INVOLVEMENT HERE????

pLEASE PLEASE PLEASE help me..!!!

suggestions and possible solutions and discussions are more then welcome here..!!

Thanks a lot..!

 

[zardoz]

It's a SCAM and CIC have been warning about it. Your money is gone, but it won't negatively affect your application. Call the police.
http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/department/media/notices/2014-10-10.asp

Notice – Telephone Scam Alert
October 10, 2014— Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) is warning individuals of fraudulent telephone calls in which the caller identifies themselves as a CIC officer calling to collect additional personal information or asking that a fine be paid to avoid deportation.

Be aware: CIC does not contact individuals for the purpose of collecting fines or personal information to avoid deportation and NEVER asks the public to make a payment over the telephone.

Anyone who receives a suspicious call should hang up immediately and contact their local police, and report the incident to the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre at 1-888-495-8501 or http://www.antifraudcentre.ca or by email at info@antifraudcentre.ca.

CIC provides tips on its website on how to avoid becoming a victim of fraud. For more information: http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/information/protection/fraud/index.asp

 

[Johnny31]

Hey everyone..!!

I would like to share my story here. I still can't believe and still not sure if it was a scam or not..!!
I have my PR file under process in CIC under CEC category. I've also added my husband to my file as dependant. Me and my husband both are here on open work-permit (he has a work permit on my dependence).
Yesterday my husband got a call from a guy. He introduced himself as an agent from CIC. He told my husband that he is speaking from CIC and he needs to have some questions regarding the PR file. He told my husband that his UIN (Unique identification Number) is not registered at India. (CEC category in one form they ask for any piece of id from backhome. and thus me and my husband had put our UIN number in the file which got issued in India) is not registered. So it is delaying your file. Now you have two options. Either fly back to India in next 15 days or pay $788, so that we will make the furthur process and then you won't be having any troubles. And the money taht you are paying is just the proof that you submitted the valid id, its just that the problem occured in India. So we are gonna refund this monney to you back in 2-3 business days. after your payment is done I am gonna transfer you to a legal department of Canada and they will give you the receipt number of your payment and also you will get an email right after your payment including all the details. Also one officer will be coming to you tomorrow to check your ids. so you need to give him the photocopies of both yours passports and some other details. he also mentioned the name, that this officer is gonna visit you tomorrow. my husband made the payment. the strange thing was the guy was recording the call saying that your call is being recorded and you are not permitted to cut the call as the legal deparment of Canada is also on the other hand of this call. So we had to continue the call "all the time" .. even when we went to the canada post to do a money gram..EVEN WHEN WE WERE ON OUR WAY..!! after first payment the guy said ohh I see here that your wife's id is also not registered..! she has to pay $877. more money cuz shes primary applicant. my husband did second payment.. after that the said m transferrignyour to a legal deparment of canada the the transfered the call. the legal deparment guy said because you are a secondary applicant you cant make this payment in half. you have to pay both together. pay $1600..! my husband said i dont have that much limit in my debit card. the guy asked him to make acash and pay.. my poor husband withdraw cash $1600 and paid..!!!! after that they said we now need to speak to your wife. cuz shes a principle applicant. I work night shift so i was sleeping my husband woke me up. They started talking to me saying that you have a penalty of $3100. $1600 for you and $1500 for your husband. so either fly back or pay the money..!! I got mad right away m like how can this be possible..!! I asked the agent id number, his name, my file number and he provided all..! i said i need to verify this in person so I need to go to your office. he said thers a cic office at 1027 ficnh ave west, unit 164. I can make your appointment there. and when I went there, there was no such address available on the stated site..!! so i got the clue that this was fraud. he even said at the end that he is withdrawing my file because i dint pay and i said i do not have any problem. and he was like m transferring your call to account department. other guy came and sked for my file number, i said i dont have it on hand and then he hung up..!!
its avery long story but i cant write whole thing but this is the summery..! we still have no idea what happened..!!
so i am gonna call to cic tomorrow. and find out what happened to me.
now in this case CIC is not gonna fight for my gone money. If i want my money back then i'll definitely have to go to the police..!! so if in case i go to the police to register a scam , WOULD THAT BE AFFECTING/DELAYIGN MY PR FILE?? OR WILL THERE BE ANY IMPACT ON MY PR FILE BECAUSE OF POLICE INVOLVEMENT HERE????

pLEASE PLEASE PLEASE help me..!!!

suggestions and possible solutions and discussions are more then welcome here..!!

Thanks a lot..!

Sorry to hear! But thanks for sharing your story!

 

[VS1987]

Hey everyone..!!

I would like to share my story here. I still can't believe and still not sure if it was a scam or not..!!
I have my PR file under process in CIC under CEC category. I've also added my husband to my file as dependant. Me and my husband both are here on open work-permit (he has a work permit on my dependence).
Yesterday my husband got a call from a guy. He introduced himself as an agent from CIC. He told my husband that he is speaking from CIC and he needs to have some questions regarding the PR file. He told my husband that his UIN (Unique identification Number) is not registered at India. (CEC category in one form they ask for any piece of id from backhome. and thus me and my husband had put our UIN number in the file which got issued in India) is not registered. So it is delaying your file. Now you have two options. Either fly back to India in next 15 days or pay $788, so that we will make the furthur process and then you won't be having any troubles. And the money taht you are paying is just the proof that you submitted the valid id, its just that the problem occured in India. So we are gonna refund this monney to you back in 2-3 business days. after your payment is done I am gonna transfer you to a legal department of Canada and they will give you the receipt number of your payment and also you will get an email right after your payment including all the details. Also one officer will be coming to you tomorrow to check your ids. so you need to give him the photocopies of both yours passports and some other details. he also mentioned the name, that this officer is gonna visit you tomorrow. my husband made the payment. the strange thing was the guy was recording the call saying that your call is being recorded and you are not permitted to cut the call as the legal deparment of Canada is also on the other hand of this call. So we had to continue the call "all the time" .. even when we went to the canada post to do a money gram..EVEN WHEN WE WERE ON OUR WAY..!! after first payment the guy said ohh I see here that your wife's id is also not registered..! she has to pay $877. more money cuz shes primary applicant. my husband did second payment.. after that the said m transferrignyour to a legal deparment of canada the the transfered the call. the legal deparment guy said because you are a secondary applicant you cant make this payment in half. you have to pay both together. pay $1600..! my husband said i dont have that much limit in my debit card. the guy asked him to make acash and pay.. my poor husband withdraw cash $1600 and paid..!!!! after that they said we now need to speak to your wife. cuz shes a principle applicant. I work night shift so i was sleeping my husband woke me up. They started talking to me saying that you have a penalty of $3100. $1600 for you and $1500 for your husband. so either fly back or pay the money..!! I got mad right away m like how can this be possible..!! I asked the agent id number, his name, my file number and he provided all..! i said i need to verify this in person so I need to go to your office. he said thers a cic office at 1027 ficnh ave west, unit 164. I can make your appointment there. and when I went there, there was no such address available on the stated site..!! so i got the clue that this was fraud. he even said at the end that he is withdrawing my file because i dint pay and i said i do not have any problem. and he was like m transferring your call to account department. other guy came and sked for my file number, i said i dont have it on hand and then he hung up..!!
its avery long story but i cant write whole thing but this is the summery..! we still have no idea what happened..!!
so i am gonna call to cic tomorrow. and find out what happened to me.
now in this case CIC is not gonna fight for my gone money. If i want my money back then i'll definitely have to go to the police..!! so if in case i go to the police to register a scam , WOULD THAT BE AFFECTING/DELAYIGN MY PR FILE?? OR WILL THERE BE ANY IMPACT ON MY PR FILE BECAUSE OF POLICE INVOLVEMENT HERE????

pLEASE PLEASE PLEASE help me..!!!

suggestions and possible solutions and discussions are more then welcome here..!!

Thanks a lot..!

Sorry to hear this kind of scam..
Police will definitely help you because you are thr victim in this case and that won't reflect in your PR file for delay...
Also call CIC to inform them that you have been scammed and tell them your story...

I am suspecting something here that you can answer few questions..
1. Did you hired Lawyer for your File?
2. Did you share your account information to with anyone inside or outside of your work place?
3. Is your primary email is Comprised?
4. Does the person ascent feel suspicious on the call?

 

[mjaffer53]

I am sorry if i sound rude and im trying really hard to be as calm as possible - but i can not believe that you guys fell for that. How in hell that you or your spouse thought that it was a legitimate call from the get go is BEYOND my comprehension.

 

[Neha2703]

Dude you gotta share their number because i am recieving calls too and i am sure those calls from these fraud people. Can you share the number my dear

 

[speakvishal]

I had a similar experience where a lady on the phone pretended to be a CIC officer and asked me to send some cash for the same reason they asked you to pay. Fortunately, I realized that it's a scam and just disconnected. Thereafter, I received similar calls two more times, but because of my previous experience with these guys I was prepared for such calls. They even use the apps whereby phone number that appears on your screen shows CIC number, but don't believe them. I have shared my experience and my conversation with these guys in my previous posts on this forum. It may not cause any delay to your PR application, but you may have to go to Police to get your money back.

 

[PR_aspirent]

sorry to hear that hard earned money has gone into wrong hands. Please keep us posted on how this case goes further.

 

[gss89x]

Dude you gotta share their number because i am recieving calls too and i am sure those calls from these fraud people. Can you share the number my dear

Number doesn't matter, If you open above mentioned official link, it clearly states that CIC never asks for money over phone to avoid deporting. They are professional people they can't do that. They prefer emails in my opinion. If you get a call like that just hang up, but If i get a call I will keep talking Just for fun..

 

[Goku]

Here is notice from CIC regarding Telephone Scam Alert dated March 11, 2015.

"March 11, 2015 — Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) is warning individuals of fraudulent telephone calls in which the caller identifies themselves as a CIC officer calling to collect additional personal information or asking that a fine be paid to avoid deportation.

Be aware: CIC does not contact individuals for the purpose of collecting fines or personal information to avoid deportation and NEVER asks the public to make a payment over the telephone.

Anyone who receives a suspicious call should hang up immediately and contact their local police, and report the incident to the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre at 1-888-495-8501 or through their website or by email.

CIC provides tips on its website on how to avoid becoming a victim of fraud. For more information, see: Internet, Email and Telephone Scams, How to protect yourself."

Source: http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/department/media/notices/2015-03-11.asp
Twitter (CIC): https://twitter.com/citimmcanada

A simple thing, CIC agent will never ask you to pay any kind of money via phone for any other thing. Application fee & RPRF is the only fee you have to pay to CIC and nothing else. If even they insist that they are real then, and if you are not sure what to do tell them that to send communication via email. Do not pay a single penny based on verbal conversation.

Another thing is whenever CIC/IO calls you for anything caller ID will display "Unknown caller"

 

[Neha2703]

@gs89 it matters to me as i am reciving calls!! I know what should be my next step but if already know the number why bother picking it up.

 

[saja_roy]

@ gs89 it matters to me as i am reciving calls!! I know what should be my next step but if already know the number why bother picking it up.

I dont think it will be the same number all the time. more over since you are receiving the calls so you must know which number it is.

 

[Neha2703]

It is different number all the time and i am not 100% sure because i am not a phone person

 

[bouncer]

I dont buy this and difficult to believe. Not sure if anyone will really pay for such phone calls

 

[retwant]

I am sorry if i sound rude and im trying really hard to be as calm as possible - but i can not believe that you guys fell for that. How in hell that you or your spouse thought that it was a legitimate call from the get go is BEYOND my comprehension.

Some people are vulnerable and others are not. It could be poor access of information, ignorance, culture, gullible, poor intelligence, or many other factors. It is good that you are not, but not everyone is the same. This scam has repeated so many times already and could be involving inside work. Hopefully, karma will bite these scammers soon and very hard...