Open-source searches on information included in the application:
Internet search engines, such as Google, to research names, businesses, references;
whitepages.com, 411.ca, etc – to verify phone numbers to see if there is an associated address, name, or listing;
LEXIS/NEXIS (a commercial electronic research database accessed by subscription over the internet. Using assigned passwords, users can access the new portion of this service where archived articles from newspapers, magazines and journals are available to be word-searched and downloaded as required);
applicable news media. Analysis of identity documents: CPC-Vegreville Strategic Analysis Reports; • CPIC Query; • Verification of supporting documents:
driver's licences;
social insurance cards;
notarized documents;
police certificates/criminal background checks;
marriage and divorce certificates; tax records (Note: Notices of Assessment issued by the Canada Revenue Agency are a common supporting document. The
Income Tax Act precludes release to a third party without client consent);
bank records, financial statements. (Note: Fraudulent financial records may be an attempt to misrepresent identity in order to conceal embezzlement, fraud, stock market tampering or other white collar crime.)
property deeds;
business licenses, share certificates, or proof of owned assets;
educational credentials: diplomas, graduation certificates, transcripts;
letters of acceptance or transcripts from post-secondary institutions in Canada;
invitation letters;
offers of employment
current employment references and past employment history. • telephone calls to all contacts on application, acceptance letters, employment offer, references, etc. • site visits (visa offices, case specific). consultations with partners and other governments; • inquiries into documents:
are the documents originals or certified true copies?
what is the quality of the originals? Where appropriate, offices may seek to obtain sample original documents from the issuing authority for comparison purposes. In Canada, inland officers may consult with the fraudulent documents specialists in the CBSA Intelligence Offices. • Verification of financial statements:
Misrepresentation and inadmissibility
Where the application of anti-fraud verification procedures discovers misrepresentation or the withholding of material facts, the applicant may become inadmissible by virtue of A40, their application is, or may be, refused, and an A44 report may be prepared. However, this is not automatic as there may be situations where there was no deliberate attempt to mislead and where an oversight or lack of understanding resulted in missing or conflicting information.
http://www.ci.gc.ca/Manuals/index_e.asp
Referral to the CBSA
If quality-assurance exercises, first-level verifications, and interviews have not addressed all fraud concerns, a referral to the CBSA for enhanced checks or investigation may be warranted. Processing of some outside-Canada cases or cases at the inland CIC or CPC will require enhanced verification by the in-Canada CBSA regional intelligence or enforcement units or at visa offices by MIOs.
It must be understood that a request for a fraud investigation could add considerable time to the processing of an application. CIC officers should therefore carefully consider whether they do have sufficient information to warrant a refusal and whether the results of a further investigation will add significantly more value or weight to their decision. Before referring a case to the CBSA for further fraud investigation, officers are asked to consider the following:
• Is there sufficient information to justify refusal? If so, the expenditure of resources required for further verification may not be warranted.
• Have all possible first-level verifications been completed?
• Is there a need for a consultation with the CBSA prior to referral?
• Is there evidence to suggest that there may be organized fraud?
• Is there information involved in this application that may have intelligence value, i.e., does it contain an example or technique that should be shared with other offices?
• Is there a need to consult with law enforcement agencies or other sources not available to CIC?
In forwarding a request to the CBSA for a second-level verification, the request must be specific about the areas of concern and the verifications already undertaken.
Alternatively, officers or program managers may want to refer the cases of clients, consultants or other third parties of interest to the attention of the CBSA where there is some suspicion that an organized fraud is being perpetrated. Upon referral of concerns from CIC, the CBSA will conduct further verifications as required to provide trend reports or other indicators to CIC as an aid in future screening of related cases. Ultimately, a CBSA investigation into an organized fraud may result in a request for a criminal investigation.
Conducting second-level verifications
This section covers general activities that comprise the main broad elements that would be undertaken in any second-level anti-fraud investigation. A variety of these procedures would apply to each of the business lines where the CBSA could be asked to pursue a second-level fraud investigation. The reader will note some overlap with first-level verifications.
The kinds of activities generally done in second-level anti-fraud investigations include: • Analysis of FOSS client history and the histories of related FOSS clients, including:
relatives;
persons who are part of a group whose members may have been refused a visa or did not comply with conditions on a previous visit;
previous travel/visa/application history - what was the basis of past visa issuance/refusal decisions? Are there contradictions or obvious inconsistencies in the recent application? • Analysis of cases within the CIC inventory:
fraud trends and patterns; or
identification of other anti-fraud indicators; or
identification of third-party accomplices. • Background checks on systems accessible to the CBSA, as applicable:
CBSA Intranet site;
Secure Tracking System (STS);
Support System for Intelligence (SSI);
regional intelligence databases;
Immigration Medical System (IMS). • Detailed document analysis by trained, experienced document examiners; • Background and/or CPIC checks on contacts in Canada, including:
employers;